Summary
Outcomes-based contracts align districts and providers around measurable student goals, implementation fidelity, dosage expectations, continuous improvement, and shared accountability for success.
As district leaders are being asked to do more than ever—improve student outcomes, manage limited resources, and demonstrate that every investment is making a difference for students—outcomes-based contracting, or OBC, is drawing attention across K–12 education. The model ties part of a provider’s payment to agreed-upon student outcomes while establishing shared responsibilities for implementation.
At HMH, we see potential in OBC because it can create stronger alignment between districts and providers around student success, effective implementation, and the dosage needed to help students achieve desired outcomes. Many of these principles have long been embedded in HMH implementation plans, which focus on best practices, dosage, and student results. At the same time, the OBC model remains relatively new, and HMH continues to learn alongside national, state, and district partners to uncover and adhere to best practices.
Key takeaways
- Outcomes-based contracting is most valuable when it strengthens implementation and shared responsibility, not simply when it changes the payment structure.
- Strong partnerships depend on clear roles, professional learning, regular data review, and a willingness to respond to challenges.
- OBC is a promising but emerging option that districts and providers should pursue selectively and with careful attention to readiness.
What are outcomes-based contracts in education?
An outcomes-based contract is a procurement model that ties part of an education provider’s payment to whether students achieve specific, agreed-upon outcomes.
Instead of paying solely for the delivery of a product or service, a district and provider agree upfront on:
- Who the program is intended to serve
- What success will look like
- How progress and outcomes will be measured
- What each partner will do to support implementation
- How they will monitor progress and respond to challenges
In many OBCs, partners also establish dosage expectations because outcomes often depend on students receiving enough instructional time and engagement as intended.
The Center for Outcomes Based Contracting organizes the model around five elements: a clearly defined population and program, defined outcomes and metrics, contingent payment, mutual accountability, and continuous improvement.
Traditional contracts generally focus on what a provider will deliver. Outcomes-based contracts also define the intended results and the conditions needed to pursue them. Payment tied to outcomes is a defining feature, but the broader shift is from a one-way buyer-seller relationship toward a partnership centered on shared goals.
Why are districts exploring outcomes-based contracts?
Districts are exploring outcomes-based contracts to clarify what success looks like, strengthen implementation, and create greater accountability around educational investments.
Even a strong, evidence-based program cannot help students if educators lack the time, training, or support to use it effectively. OBC encourages districts and providers to focus on those conditions both before implementation begins and throughout the partnership. That often includes monitoring implementation indicators such as dosage alongside outcome measures, allowing partners to identify challenges early and make adjustments before they affect results.
An EdWeek Research Center survey suggests that school and district leaders value the practices surrounding OBC, not only its payment structure. Among respondents, 40% identified discussions about measuring success before signing a contract as particularly helpful, while 39% cited regularly scheduled provider meetings during the first year of implementation.
Those practices can strengthen educational purchasing even when OBC may not be the right choice. Clear expectations, regular communication, and sustained attention to implementation are valuable in any major district-provider partnership.
For Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS), the 7th largest district in the country, the decision to explore OBC grew out of an urgent literacy challenge. The district wanted an intervention for striving high school readers and a provider prepared to support implementation alongside its educators.
In an interview with HMH, HCPS Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Tracie Bergman explains, “High school kids that are sitting in intensive reading, they don’t have time. They’ve got to be able to move on.”
For Hillsborough, meeting that urgency also meant looking beyond the intervention itself to the conditions that would help it succeed with educators and students.
Why does HMH see promise in outcomes-based contracting?
We see the OBC model as having potential to help further align districts and providers on the conditions required for effective implementation and student growth.
At HMH, we believe strong outcomes are the result of educator expertise, effective instructional resources, professional learning, implementation best practices, appropriate dosage, and continuous improvement working together. Technology is most effective when it complements the work of educators as part of a coherent instructional model. It cannot replace teacher expertise, strong instruction, or the relationships that support learning, but it can strengthen implementation, support data-informed decision-making, and help educators meet students’ needs.
As Amy Dunkin, President of English Language Development and Intervention Solutions at HMH, writes in District Administration, “OBC alone will not change a student’s life; great teachers, strong programs, and strong implementation do. OBC makes those things a shared responsibility and keeps everyone focused on whether they are translating into real progress for students.”
Research from Digital Promise and an independent WestEd evaluation points to several factors that can support successful outcomes-based contracting partnerships:
- Clear goals and responsibilities: Define who the program is intended to serve, what success looks like, and what each partner is responsible for throughout implementation.
- Implementation fidelity and dosage: Ensure students receive sufficient instructional time and engagement and that the program is implemented as intended.
- Organizational readiness: Consider whether partners have the capacity, leadership support, and school-level buy-in needed to sustain the work.
- Ongoing collaboration and data use: Communicate regularly, monitor progress, and use data to identify challenges and make adjustments throughout implementation.
While these findings are encouraging, they are not conclusive. OBC’s suitability still depends on the goals, capacity, data, and context of both partners. The research suggests that success depends not only on the contract itself, but also on the conditions that support effective implementation, including leadership commitment, school-level buy-in, and sustained collaboration.
For Tracie Bergman, partnership means that a provider shares the district’s investment in its students, “We’re willing to put in the work, we’re willing to put in the effort, but what I need to have from my [provider] is that investment in my students.”
What does shared accountability look like in practice?
Shared accountability means that districts and providers define what each partner can influence and then commit to the work needed to support implementation, with both the district and provider sharing responsibility for student outcomes. Districts and providers control different conditions that affect student learning.
Depending on the agreement, district responsibilities may include:
- Providing sufficient instructional time to support dosage expectations
- Addressing staffing and scheduling needs
- Supporting implementation fidelity
- Ensuring educator participation in professional learning
- Reviewing data and acting on challenges
While provider responsibilities may include:
- Delivering a high-quality, evidence-based resource
- Creating an implementation plan
- Providing professional learning and coaching
- Monitoring usage and progress
- Responding to challenges with the district
The exact responsibilities will differ by district, program, and student population. The goal is to establish a realistic plan reflecting what each party can influence and what both must do together.
In Hillsborough, Executive Director of High School Education Christie Raburn summarizes the idea in two words: “Equal accountability. The contract really made us partner together in a way that I don’t think we would have had we gone with a different type of contract.”
Why does implementation matter?
Implementation matters because even a strong educational resource cannot support student growth if educators and students cannot use it as intended.
An agreement can establish goals and responsibilities, but the work of implementation happens in schools and classrooms. It depends on educators understanding why a resource was selected, how it supports instruction, and how to use it effectively.
At Hillsborough, district and HMH teams met weekly to review data, discuss challenges, and assess whether adjustments were working.
“We were not only troubleshooting in real time, but then we were also regrouping every week to say, ’Okay, now did this work?’” says Christie Raburn.
Regular progress monitoring helps partners ask:
- Are students receiving the intended instructional experience?
- Do educators have the preparation and support they need?
- Are staffing or scheduling barriers limiting implementation?
- Where is additional coaching needed?
- What should the district or provider adjust?
In many OBC partnerships, these reviews include dosage metrics alongside student outcome data to help determine whether the intervention is being implemented as intended.
This continuous-improvement cycle shifts the review process to a shared ongoing effort to strengthen implementation while the work is underway.
Outcomes-based contracting in practice: An example from Hillsborough County Public Schools
Hillsborough provides an encouraging example of OBC’s potential when implementation and shared accountability are in place. The district partnered with HMH to implement Read 180 for striving high school readers. Hillsborough set student outcome goals and committed to instructional time and regular data reviews. HMH set dosage goals and committed to onboarding, site visits, weekly usage monitoring, and ongoing professional learning.
During the 2025-2026 school year, reading proficiency among participating students increased from 5% to 23% on Florida’s ELA FAST assessment. The percentage demonstrating a full level of growth increased from 18% to 49%.
Hillsborough’s experience highlights something district leaders already know: outcomes rarely come from a single factor. Student growth was supported by strong implementation, educator commitment, ongoing collaboration, professional learning, and a shared focus on helping students succeed.
Throughout the partnership, district leaders and HMH teams worked together to monitor progress, address challenges, and support educators, creating the conditions for success in classrooms across the district.
Read “Hillsborough’s Results-Driven Reading Growth Strategy” for the full story, along with additional coverage from the Tampa Bay Reporter.
What is HMH learning about outcomes-based contracting?
We’re learning that strong outcomes-based partnerships require clear goals, organizational readiness, reliable measurement, strong implementation, and sustained collaboration.
Several lessons stand out:
- Start with a student need. OBC should begin with a problem the district is trying to solve, not with a preferred contracting model.
- Set meaningful goals. Measures should be appropriate for the student population and aligned with what the resource is designed to support.
- Assess both partners’ readiness. Districts and providers need the people, data, communication systems, and capacity to fulfill their commitments.
- Include educators early. Teachers and school leaders can identify practical barriers involving schedules, technology, classroom routines, and student needs.
- Use data to adapt. Usage, progress, observations, and educator feedback should inform decisions throughout implementation. Monitoring dosage can help partners identify implementation challenges early and make adjustments before they affect outcomes.
Hillsborough’s experience reinforces these lessons. “Implementation with fidelity, it really does matter,” says Christie Raburn. “And it’s something that you have to progress monitor from the start.”
From transactions to partnerships
When the right conditions are present, OBC can clarify what success looks like, define what each partner must contribute, and create a process for improving implementation as the work unfolds.
That aligns with a broader HMH belief: Educational outcomes are not driven by products alone. They are supported by educator expertise, high-quality resources, professional learning, coaching, data review, continuous improvement, and shared accountability.
At HMH, we will continue learning with district partners about where OBC creates value, where it may not be the right fit, and how the model can evolve responsibly.
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Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
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What should districts consider before pursuing an outcomes-based contract?
Before pursuing an outcomes-based contract, districts should consider whether they have a clearly defined student need, meaningful outcome measures, reliable data, implementation capacity, and leadership and school-level support. The model depends on both partners having the people, systems, and communication structures needed to fulfill commitments and respond to challenges.
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How do dosage expectations fit into an outcomes-based contract?
Dosage expectations help an outcomes-based contract account for whether students receive the intended amount of instructional time and engagement. Monitoring dosage alongside student outcomes can help districts and providers identify implementation challenges early, determine whether the program is being used as intended, and make adjustments while the work is underway.
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What role do educators play in outcomes-based contracting?
Educators play an important role in outcomes-based contracting because implementation ultimately happens in schools and classrooms. Teachers and school leaders can identify practical barriers related to schedules, technology, classroom routines, and student needs, while professional learning and coaching can help educators understand and use selected resources effectively.
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How can districts and providers use data during an outcomes-based partnership?
Districts and providers can use data throughout an outcomes-based partnership to review student progress, monitor usage and dosage, identify implementation barriers, and decide where adjustments or additional support may be needed. Regular data review supports continuous improvement by making progress monitoring an ongoing shared practice, rather than only reviewing at the end of a contract.
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When might outcomes-based contracting not be the right fit?
Outcomes-based contracting may not be the right fit when partners lack the readiness needed to define meaningful goals, measure progress reliably, support implementation, or sustain collaboration. The model’s suitability depends on each district’s goals, capacity, data, and context, so the contracting approach should follow the student need rather than lead it.
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