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North Carolina鈥檚 , which allows highly effective teachers to receive salary supplements for teaching additional students or supporting other teachers, is having positive effects on math and science test scores, according to an presented by NC State University鈥檚 at the State Board of Education meeting last week.

Since 2016, the ATR initiative has allowed districts to create new career pathways and provide salary supplements for highly effective teachers 鈥� or Advanced Teachers 鈥� who mentor and support other educators while still teaching part of the day. Their roles include Adult Leadership teachers, who lead small teams and receive at least $10,000 supplements, and Classroom Excellence teachers, who take on larger student loads and receive a minimum of $3,000 supplements. 

Those in adult leadership roles teach for at least 30% of the day, lead a team of 3-8 classroom teachers, and share responsibility for the performance of all those teachers鈥� students. Classroom excellence teachers are responsible for at least 20% more students than before they enter the role.

鈥淥ur ATR program was designed to allow highly effective classroom educators to reach more students and to support the professional growth of educators,鈥� said Dr. Callie Edwards, the program鈥檚 lead evaluator, at the State Board of Education meeting last Wednesday. 鈥淎TR aims to improve the quality of classroom instruction, the recruitment and retention of teachers, as well as ultimately impact student academic achievement.鈥�

In the 2024-25 school year, 26 districts operated ATR programs across 400 schools 鈥� 56% of which were elementary schools 鈥� employing 1,494 Advanced Teachers who supported nearly 4,000 classroom teachers statewide, according to the evaluation. Edwards said that 88% of Adult Leadership teachers received at least $10,000, and 85% of Classroom Excellence teachers received $3,000 or more.

Statistical analysis of the 2023-24 school year鈥檚 data found that students in ATR schools outperformed their peers in non-ATR schools in math and science, showing statistically significant learning gains. 

鈥淎cross the various programs I鈥檝e evaluated, these are positive results 鈥� especially in math and science 鈥� where the impact of ATR is equivalent to about a month of extra learning for students,鈥� said Dr. Lam Pham, the leading quantitative evaluator. 鈥淭he results in ELA are positive but not statistically significant, which has been consistent for the last three years,鈥� Pham said, referring to English Language Arts.

These effects on math and science grow over time, . Math scores improved throughout schools鈥� first six years of ATR implementation 鈥� though they are no longer significant by the seventh year of implementation, . For science scores, statistically significant gains began in the fifth year after schools began implementing ATR.

Additionally, math teachers in ATR schools reported higher EVAAS growth scores than their peers in comparable schools.

Teachers in ATR schools also reported feeling like they have more time to do their work compared to teachers in non-ATR schools.

This year鈥檚 report featured data on teachers supported by ATR teachers for the first time. The evaluation found no positive effects on test scores for students taught by supported teachers compared to students taught by teachers who are not in the program. The researchers also found no effect on turnover levels for teachers supported by Advanced Teachers. However, the report says additional years of data will be necessary to verify if those effects appear over time.  

The evaluation recommended that principals in ATR schools should foster collaboration and communicate strategically about the program with staff, beginning during Advanced Teachers鈥� hiring and onboarding.

鈥淚t鈥檚 important to integrate ATR into those processes,鈥� Edwards told the Board. 鈥淭hat means introducing Advanced Teachers to new staff and making collaboration, especially mentoring and coaching, a structured part of the day.鈥�

Edwards said these practices have been adopted in some schools, but principals reported needing more time and support to build collaboration opportunities into the school schedule.

The report also urges district administrators to coordinate with Beginning Teacher (BT) programs, advertise ATR in recruitment materials, and improve their data collection practices. It also calls on state leaders to standardize the program to ensure consistency across participating districts.

鈥淒istricts need standardized messaging, professional learning opportunities, and technical assistance to support implementation,鈥� Edwards said. 鈥淭he state can also create more opportunities for districts to share what鈥檚 working with one another and expand the evaluation beyond test scores to capture things like classroom engagement, social, emotional development, and feedback from teachers and principals.鈥�

The evaluators also said 鈥渢here鈥檚 more to do鈥� to expand the program in western North Carolina after Board members raised concerns about uneven participation across the state鈥檚 regions.

2026-27 participants

After the Friday Institute鈥檚 presentation, Board members from Dr. Thomas R. Tomberlin, senior director of educator preparation, licensure, and performance.

Tomberlin said DPI received 15 proposals representing 22 districts. These proposals have been evaluated by seven independent evaluators, Tomberlin said. The Board had to choose the program鈥檚 next participants by Oct. 15 to comply with a legislative requirement. 

The state can only allocate $911,349 for new implementation grants in 2026-27 鈥� less than one-sixth of the funding required to fund all applications. That level of funding is 鈥渧ery low鈥� compared to previous years, Tomberlin said. In the 2023-25 state budget, for these supplements in each year of the biennium.

Tomberlin recommended that the Board approve the three highest-scoring proposals for the 2026-27 fiscal year, and fund these districts at 85% of their request. If the Board approves this recommendation, the state would still have $37,981 in planning funds left over for districts approved during the 2026 proposal cycle.

Tomberlin said districts are already struggling to pay for the program鈥檚 salary supplements. The Friday Institute鈥檚 report showed that, despite the high median supplements, some districts are offering supplements as little as $1,000.

鈥淪ome districts are not able to pay the full $10,000 because they have more ATR teachers than the funding that we can give them in terms of those allotments,鈥� Tomberlin said. 鈥淎nd we had requested the General Assembly, I think, an additional $14 million to cover those supplements, and we didn鈥檛 get any.鈥�

The this session included funds to expand the ATR program over the biennium, while the . The General Assembly has not yet passed a comprehensive state budget, and its funding.

Tomberlin said DPI would be in touch with the three districts to verify if they can proceed with the program despite limited funding.

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