$1B in teacher compensation under attack

11-29-2010

Blog by Louis Freedberg/California Watch

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is taking aim at the more than $1 billion California school districts spend each year in extra pay to teachers with master's degrees, a core feature of teacher compensation in California and the nation. In addition to step increases based on years on the job, getting a master's degree is one of the few ways teachers can boost their salaries. A handful of school districts nationally are experimenting with paying teachers based more on teacher evaluations rather than on seniority and advances degrees, but these efforts have yet to translate into a national movement, as a recent article in Education Week reported. That could change if national education and corporate leaders continue to press the issue. In a speech in Washington on Nov. 17 [PDF], Duncan said teachers should not be paid based on "paper credentials," but rather on "excellence and effectiveness": (more…)

Personal tools

Sections

$1B in teacher compensation under attack

Document Actions