Arkansas Teacher Merit Pay Calculator

The Merit Teacher Incentive Fund (MTIF), established by the LEARNS Act, provides annual bonuses of up to $10,000 to recognize outstanding Arkansas educators. In 2024–25, over 4,200 teachers received awards totaling $14.24 million. Bonuses are based on student growth performance, subject and geographic shortage designations, advanced licensure, and mentoring. Use this tool to estimate your eligibility — final amounts are calculated by DESE each spring.

Your School
Basic Eligibility Requirements

To qualify for any merit pay, teachers must:

  • Hold a standard or provisional Arkansas teaching license
  • Have at least 3 years of teaching experience
  • Spend 70% or more of contracted time with students
  • Demonstrate positive student growth on state assessments
  • Have no current ethics violations

Eligible roles include classroom teachers, special education teachers, library media specialists, and school counselors.

How Bonuses Work

Bonuses stack across categories up to the $10,000 cap. For example, a 9th grade science teacher in a geographic shortage district with top-25% growth could earn $7,000 ($3,000 + $2,500 + $1,500).

Fixed bonuses (paid if you qualify):

  • $2,500 — Subject shortage area
  • $1,500 — Geographic shortage district
  • $1,500 — Lead or Master Professional Educator designation
  • $3,000 — Mentor teacher for a yearlong resident

Student growth bonus, based on your statewide 3-year percentile rank:

Top 25%$3,000
Top 5%$6,000
Top 1%$9,000
Top 0.5%$10,000

DESE determines your growth tier each spring. All bonuses combined are capped at $10,000.

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