No Substitute for Quality 9 No Substitute for Quality: A Time Series Quasi-Experimental Study of the Effects of a Pay for Performance Remedy for Teacher Absenteeism

Daily across America, children are faced with a stranger intheir classroom: a substitute teacher. The financial impact ofemployee absenteeism is a challenge faced by all types of businesses everywhere. Our nations school districts are not immune to employee absenteeism. The shortage of qualified substitute teachers and declining unemployment rates has compounded this challenge among school administrators. The budgetary cost of paying for both absent teachers and their substitutes increases each year with higher salaries, substitute pay, and incentive plans (Norton, 1998). This study came about due to the growing concerns with teacher absenteeism in the nation (Norton, 1998) specifically Creighton School District in Phoenix, Arizona. Creighton School District was experiencing a steadily increasing trend in teacher absenteeism, especially over the three-year period prior to the 2001 school year. The concerns over teacher absenteeism were magnified by a corresponding decrease in the number of qualified substitute teachers available to cover the classes of absentee teachers. Adding to the frustration of parents and administrators, the students of the district were performing below the state average on the annual state-mandated, norm-referenced assessments. During this same period of time, the voters of Arizona approved Proposition 301, a referendum with the stated purpose of improving student achievement and increasing teacher salaries (Bayless, 2000). Proposition 301 called for each school district to develop a Pay for Performance (PFP) plan. In response, Creighton School District developed a PFP plan that centered on an incentive intended to decrease teacher absenteeism throughout the district. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of the PFP plan on teacher absenteeism and on the distribution of Proposition 301 funding intended for teacher salaries