[Vision2020] Paper on the Teachers' Salary Grid
Dale Courtney
dale@courtneys.us
Sat, 15 Feb 2003 05:03:58 -0800
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Jack Wenders (Professor Emeritus of Economics at UI) has just published =
his
research over at The Public Service Research Foundation.=20
=20
The title: THE ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE TEACHERS' UNIFIED SALARY SCHEDULE
=20
You can find it here: http://www.psrf.org/gur/gur20.3wenders.jsp
=20
Here's the abstract.=20
_____ =20
This paper addresses the teachers' salary grid employed in virtually all
public schools in the United States. It will show how the salary grid =
causes
the data on teachers salaries collected by the National Education
Association to underestimate the rate at which these salaries have =
increased
in the decade of the 1990s.
Since the grid recognizes only years of service and accumulated =
education
credits, the incentives in the grid tell teachers not to worry about =
student
performance and to spend their time accumulating education credits and
degrees of no value to student performance. Further, if you have talent =
in
math or science, or are ambitions and want to work hard to get ahead, =
you
can do better outside of teaching where you will be rewarded for good
performance.
The existence of the grid makes it very difficult and expensive to =
upgrade
teacher quality. The existence of a rigid grid means that most of the =
money
spent on salary increases goes to those already on the grid and further
locks these teachers into place--the very ones you want to replace. =
Research
shows that this is exactly what happened during the 1980s when teacher
salaries generally were raised by about 20 percent with no discernable
improvement in teacher quality. This is also what is happening to the =
Teach
for America program for teacher reform. With the grid in place, all
piecemeal attempts to improve teaching will fail. The grid has an =
insidious
ability to thwart reform by wringing competence out of the public =
schools.
The grid survives and is popular because it has advantages for teachers,
unions, administrators, and school boards in the political market in =
which
teachers' pay is determined. Taxpayers and parents, the only ones who =
would
count if education were market based, are out of this loop.=20
_____ =20
Dale Courtney
Moscow, Idaho
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<DIV><SPAN class=3D069105912-15022003><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#0000ff =
size=3D2>Jack=20
Wenders (Professor Emeritus of Economics at UI) has just published his =
research=20
over at The Public Service Research Foundation. </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D069105912-15022003><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#0000ff =
size=3D2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D069105912-15022003><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#0000ff =
size=3D2>The=20
title: <STRONG><FONT color=3D#000000>THE ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE =
TEACHERS' UNIFIED=20
SALARY SCHEDULE</FONT></STRONG></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D069105912-15022003><STRONG><FONT face=3DArial=20
size=3D2></FONT></STRONG></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D069105912-15022003><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2><SPAN=20
class=3D069105912-15022003><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#0000ff =
size=3D2>You can find it=20
here: <A=20
href=3D"http://www.psrf.org/gur/gur20.3wenders.jsp">http://www.psrf.org/g=
ur/gur20.3wenders.jsp</A></FONT></SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D069105912-15022003><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#0000ff =
size=3D2><SPAN=20
class=3D069105912-15022003></SPAN></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D069105912-15022003><FONT><SPAN =
class=3D069105912-15022003><FONT=20
face=3DArial><FONT color=3D#0000ff><FONT size=3D2>Here's the=20
abstract. </FONT></FONT></FONT></SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV><SPAN=20
class=3D069105912-15022003><FONT><SPAN class=3D069105912-15022003>
<DIV>
<HR>
This paper addresses the teachers' salary grid employed in virtually all =
public=20
schools in the United States. It will show how the salary grid causes =
the data=20
on teachers salaries collected by the National Education Association to=20
underestimate the rate at which these salaries have increased in the =
decade of=20
the 1990s.</DIV>
<DIV>
<P>Since the grid recognizes only years of service and accumulated =
education=20
credits, the incentives in the grid tell teachers not to worry about =
student=20
performance and to spend their time accumulating education credits and =
degrees=20
of no value to student performance. Further, if you have talent in math =
or=20
science, or are ambitions and want to work hard to get ahead, you can do =
better=20
outside of teaching where you will be rewarded for good performance.</P>
<P>The existence of the grid makes it very difficult and expensive to =
upgrade=20
teacher quality. The existence of a rigid grid means that most of the =
money=20
spent on salary increases goes to those already on the grid and further =
locks=20
these teachers into place--the very ones you want to replace. Research =
shows=20
that this is exactly what happened during the 1980s when teacher =
salaries=20
generally were raised by about 20 percent with no discernable =
improvement in=20
teacher quality. This is also what is happening to the Teach for America =
program=20
for teacher reform. With the grid in place, all piecemeal attempts to =
improve=20
teaching will fail. The grid has an insidious ability to thwart reform =
by=20
wringing competence out of the public schools.</P>
<P>The grid survives and is popular because it has advantages for =
teachers,=20
unions, administrators, and school boards in the political market in =
which=20
teachers' pay is determined. Taxpayers and parents, the only ones who =
would=20
count if education were market based, are out of this loop.=20
<HR>
</P></DIV>
<DIV></SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=3D069105912-15022003><FONT=20
color=3D#0000ff>Dale Courtney</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D069105912-15022003><FONT color=3D#0000ff>Moscow,=20
Idaho</FONT></SPAN></DIV></BODY></HTML>
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