Outcomes-Based Contracting in Education: The Case for Partnership

Every school leader I speak with is trying to answer the same question before adopting a new assessment or instruction program: will this actually work for our students?

Research and evidence may point a district in the right direction, but real confidence comes only after a year of watching a program play out in its own classrooms. The problem is that students who needed stronger reading or math instruction can’t rewind the clock. That’s what makes the adoption decision so weighty for district leaders, and it’s why we believe the relationship between a district and its provider should carry some of that load.

This is where outcomes-based contracting (OBC) can play a vital role. I wrote an opinion piece about this, Outcomes-Based Contracting Requires Not Just Accountability, but Partnership, published in The 74.

What is Outcomes-Based Contracting?

On the surface, OBC may look like a customer contract. Underneath, it’s about partnership and trust. About listening. Open communication. And about building an agreement that holds both sides accountable to the same goal from the start, rather than a district finding out a year later, on its own, whether the promise held up.

Here’s the short version: a district and a provider agree upfront on a target for student growth, identify practices to achieve goals, and both parties determine a payment structure that is mutually beneficial. The final bill reflects how the year actually went. If the district met implementation expectations and hit the growth target, it pays the previously agreed upon full amount. If it met the implementation expectations but fell short of the target, the cost adjusts downward. And if the implementation expectations weren’t met, the contract defaults back to standard pricing, since there isn’t a fair basis for evaluating whether the program worked.

It’s a different way to think about accountability in procurement, and it’s primarily why the Center for Outcomes Based Contracting has spent the last several years building a national framework around it. Since 2024, Curriculum Associates has been working alongside other providers and districts to pressure-test what a well-built OBC agreement requires in education.

Confidence Grounded in Evidence

We built our own OBC model for i-Ready Personalized Instruction, our supplemental digital Mathematics and Reading program for Grades K–8 that delivers tailored lessons to students based on their unique needs, because we’re confident in what the program does when used as recommended. i-Ready Personalized Instruction is backed by more than 50 published studies built to meet ESSA evidence requirements, including research measuring the relationship between growth on i-Ready Inform, our adaptive digital assessment given three times a year, and student performance on more than two dozen state assessments. Studies show a consistent, positive relationship between using i-Ready Personalized Instruction with fidelity and stronger reading and math performance for K–8, across a wide range of districts and student populations.

What Independent Research Shows

An independent evaluation from WestEd found that students in districts with an outcomes-based agreement showed positive impacts on student performance. Districts that implemented OBC reported more frequent, productive communication with their providers, and better use of data to course-correct throughout the year, improving the day-to-day partnership.

A Proof Point from the Field

One of our earliest outcomes-based partnerships, with Fresno Unified School District in California, shows what strong implementation delivers. The work went beyond the program itself: regular check-ins between our team and district leaders, shared looks at the data, and adjustments made along the way rather than only at the end of the year. By the district's own account, its kindergarteners finished the year well ahead of the foundational literacy mastery goal it set going in. That's the kind of result an OBC agreement is designed to surface early, not discover after the fact.

Partnership over Payment Terms

OBC isn’t a discount mechanism or a money-back guarantee bolted onto a sales pitch. It’s a shared commitment that puts implementation quality at the center of the relationship because it plays a critical role in supporting student growth. That means districts commit to meeting usage expectations, assigning clear ownership with school leader support, providing ongoing Professional Learning, tracking progress at each school, and regularly reviewing data together. A district considering OBC should expect a real partnership including a genuine planning conversation about staffing, training, and usage goals well before the school year starts.

What This Looks Like for Your Building

District leaders aren't the only ones committed to an OBC agreement; building principals, instructional coaches, and teachers carry it out day to day. In practice, that should translate into a predictable rhythm: coaching visits and usage check-ins on a set cadence rather than an occasional drop-in, Professional Learning sessions tied to real-time data rather than a one-and-done kickoff, and a standing invitation to flag something when the program isn't landing the way it should. If your district participates in an OBC and your building doesn't feel that extra support, raise it with your leadership team.

Moving forward, Together

OBC is still evolving at Curriculum Associates, and we expect that to continue as we invite more districts to implement it and join us in OCB partnerships so we can learn more about what works best in different contexts. But when a district and a provider share the same goal, invest in and commit to getting implementation right, and continue to learn from what happens in classrooms, everyone comes out ahead. Districts gain a partner with more skin in the game. We get sharper about what drives growth. And most importantly, students realize stronger learning outcomes.

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More Resources for You:

Learning from Educators: Trust, Feedback, and Building Better Products
To the Teachers Who Shape our Work: We’re Listening
What Counts as Compelling Evidence in Education?