HOUSTON – The largest school district in Texas, the Houston Independent School District, released a new pay scale for teachers, which will take effect during the 2026-2027 school year.
The district announced the release of a new Pay for Performance model, which will pay teachers based on the success of their students. The new payment structure will replace the current compensation systems, including the traditional salary schedule for PUA teachers and the hospital model pay plan for New Education System teachers.
Teachers at NES schools will continue to receive higher salaries than non-NES staff members, according to the district.
But, through the new system, NES teachers will be divided into two groups, NES 1, teachers who teach non-core subjects, and NES 2, teachers who teach core subjects such as math, ELA, Science, Social Studies, and Art of Thinking.
At the NES high school level, core subject teachers are 9th and 10th-grade teachers who teach Algebra I, English I, English II, Biology and U.S. History.
How will salaries be determined?
Teacher salaries will be determined based on student outcomes, the quality of instruction, and overall effectiveness determined by the new Teacher Excellence System evaluations. The evaluations will also begin in the 2025 through 2026 school year and will determine the teacher’s salary for the 2026 through 2027 school year.
Several factors will be considered, including student achievement, quality of instruction, professionalism, and campus action plans.
Sarah Rivlin, a former HISD teacher now working with the Texas AFT, a statewide teachers’ union, believes the new system is flawed.
“Forty-five percent of your score comes from evaluations and observations from your supervisors,” Rivlin said. “Even if you have the best-standardized test scores, you are still not guaranteed to receive extra money.”
Rivlin pointed out that while the logic behind pay-for-performance suggests that teachers will improve their teaching with financial incentives, many teachers have little control over their assignments.
“Their test scores are only 35% of the evaluation,” she noted. “They are completely dependent on their administrator to provide the necessary evaluations.”
Timeline:
- T-TESS evaluations will launch this school year.
- Teachers will be evaluated under TES beginning in the 2025 through 2026 school year.
- Teachers will be placed on the Pay for Performance scale starting in the 2025 through 2026 school year.
- Teacher’s salaries will be based on a two-year average of the teacher’s TES evaluation rating.
The evaluations for the new pay structure will begin during the 2025-2026 school year, determining teachers’ salaries for the following year. Depending on performance levels, teachers could earn between $64,000 and $101,000.
When asked if the new salary range would attract teachers to HISD, Rivlin expressed skepticism.
“I think the teachers who were willing to come to HISD for a salary would have been drawn in by the $96,000, which was what core English and math teachers were making at New Education System (NES) schools. Now, it’s not guaranteed.”
Superintendent Mike Miles emphasized that the new pay structure aligns compensation with effectiveness. “The moral of the story here is that every teacher, regardless of where you teach, is paid for effectiveness,” he said. “The NES schools, serving a population of kids who are further behind, will be incentivized to make more based on proficiency levels.”
With the potential for increased teacher salaries, one key question remains: How will HISD fund this new pay structure? HISD has indicated that it will utilize the Teacher Incentive Allotment provided by the state to support higher salaries. This funding was established under Texas state law as part of House Bill 3.