Post by title1parent on Apr 19, 2010 5:20:52 GMT -5
www.suntimes.com/news/education/2172972,CST-NWS-teachers19.article
High teacher pay no guarantee of results
AREA SCHOOLS | Only 7 of 25 top-salary districts lead in student achievement
April 19, 2010
BY ART GOLAB Staff Reporter/agolab@suntimes.com
Elementary students in Bannockburn had the fourth-highest test scores in Illinois last year, but that achievement wasn't reflected in the pay of their teachers, whose average salaries ranked 242nd among elementary school districts statewide.
The north suburban school district is one example of the wide disparity between teacher pay and student achievement that a Chicago Sun-Times analysis has found is common throughout Illinois.
Just seven of the top 25 elementary districts for highest-paid teachers also made the top 25 in student achievement scores -- an issue that has drawn the attention of the Obama administration, which is proposing to link teacher pay to student performance.
As things stand now, though, teacher pay is determined largely by seniority and whether a teacher has an advanced degree.
Another key factor: property values, which, in some cases, can result in higher tax revenue. But there are many exceptions, including prosperous Bannockburn. Teachers in Bannockburn District 106 make close to $53,000 on average -- at the low end of the scale for such a well-off community.
The major reason is that, while starting salaries there are higher, salaries for veteran teachers are lower than at neighboring school districts.
"The board has felt it is important to attract younger teachers that are talented and pay them well at the start," said Supt. JoAnn Desmond.
As teachers gain experience, the district continues "to pay them respectably," Desmond said, "but we do not say you have to be here 25 or 30 years to earn a good living."
She credits the success of her students to "parents with very high expectations" and to dedicated teachers willing to "give beyond what they're paid."
She also notes that her district uses frequent testing and data collection to help teachers identify students who are falling behind, as well as those who need to be challenged more.
Far from Bannockburn and toward the opposite end of the scale is Argo Community High School District 217, which serves largely blue-collar communities in the southwest suburbs. It ranked third in teacher pay -- averaging $92,300 -- even though students' test scores placed the district 368th among high school districts statewide, according to the Sun-Times analysis.
Argo Supt. Kevin O'Malley said his payroll skews high because the district's teachers are older and, under their union contract, get paid more as they gain seniority.
But the higher pay scale is also a draw that enables the district to "compete for the best teachers in the state of Illinois," O'Malley said.
He notes that large numbers of Hispanic, Polish and Arab students who speak languages other than English make teaching more challenging in his district. Also, two-thirds of the district's students are poor enough to qualify for free lunches.
"When kids worry about where their next meal is coming from, it certainly puts them at a disadvantage when it comes to performance," he said. "We have a unique set of challenges that are different from Hinsdale and different from New Trier" -- two higher-scoring districts with similar pay scales.
O'Malley said his board is looking into negotiating with teachers to link student performance to teacher pay.
A state law passed in January to help Illinois schools qualify for the federal "Race to the Top" program -- and the millions of dollars in grants that it provides -- encourages schools to tie student performance to teacher and administrator pay, but it doesn't spell out how to do that.
The legislation was backed by 115 Illinois teachers unions, but not the Chicago Teachers Union. The unions have, in the past, fought efforts to base pay on merit.
And nobody has found a workable way to measure teacher performance as it relates to student performance, said Robin Steans, executive director of Advance Illinois, an education policy group.
"You can't find two merit programs that look alike, so it's complicated to draw any conclusions about how to do it in terms of making a difference in the classroom," said Steans, a former teacher.
Steans contends the statewide ISAT and PSAE -- tests the Sun-Times analysis used to calculate achievement rankings -- are flawed ways to measure progress because they aren't consistent from year to year.
Better tests are in the pipeline, but Steans said one thing that could be done now is to evaluate newer teachers more carefully before granting tenure.
"Right now, we grant tenure because you lasted four years,'' Steans said. "We don't look to see if you did a good job during those four years."
High teacher pay no guarantee of results
AREA SCHOOLS | Only 7 of 25 top-salary districts lead in student achievement
April 19, 2010
BY ART GOLAB Staff Reporter/agolab@suntimes.com
Elementary students in Bannockburn had the fourth-highest test scores in Illinois last year, but that achievement wasn't reflected in the pay of their teachers, whose average salaries ranked 242nd among elementary school districts statewide.
The north suburban school district is one example of the wide disparity between teacher pay and student achievement that a Chicago Sun-Times analysis has found is common throughout Illinois.
Just seven of the top 25 elementary districts for highest-paid teachers also made the top 25 in student achievement scores -- an issue that has drawn the attention of the Obama administration, which is proposing to link teacher pay to student performance.
As things stand now, though, teacher pay is determined largely by seniority and whether a teacher has an advanced degree.
Another key factor: property values, which, in some cases, can result in higher tax revenue. But there are many exceptions, including prosperous Bannockburn. Teachers in Bannockburn District 106 make close to $53,000 on average -- at the low end of the scale for such a well-off community.
The major reason is that, while starting salaries there are higher, salaries for veteran teachers are lower than at neighboring school districts.
"The board has felt it is important to attract younger teachers that are talented and pay them well at the start," said Supt. JoAnn Desmond.
As teachers gain experience, the district continues "to pay them respectably," Desmond said, "but we do not say you have to be here 25 or 30 years to earn a good living."
She credits the success of her students to "parents with very high expectations" and to dedicated teachers willing to "give beyond what they're paid."
She also notes that her district uses frequent testing and data collection to help teachers identify students who are falling behind, as well as those who need to be challenged more.
Far from Bannockburn and toward the opposite end of the scale is Argo Community High School District 217, which serves largely blue-collar communities in the southwest suburbs. It ranked third in teacher pay -- averaging $92,300 -- even though students' test scores placed the district 368th among high school districts statewide, according to the Sun-Times analysis.
Argo Supt. Kevin O'Malley said his payroll skews high because the district's teachers are older and, under their union contract, get paid more as they gain seniority.
But the higher pay scale is also a draw that enables the district to "compete for the best teachers in the state of Illinois," O'Malley said.
He notes that large numbers of Hispanic, Polish and Arab students who speak languages other than English make teaching more challenging in his district. Also, two-thirds of the district's students are poor enough to qualify for free lunches.
"When kids worry about where their next meal is coming from, it certainly puts them at a disadvantage when it comes to performance," he said. "We have a unique set of challenges that are different from Hinsdale and different from New Trier" -- two higher-scoring districts with similar pay scales.
O'Malley said his board is looking into negotiating with teachers to link student performance to teacher pay.
A state law passed in January to help Illinois schools qualify for the federal "Race to the Top" program -- and the millions of dollars in grants that it provides -- encourages schools to tie student performance to teacher and administrator pay, but it doesn't spell out how to do that.
The legislation was backed by 115 Illinois teachers unions, but not the Chicago Teachers Union. The unions have, in the past, fought efforts to base pay on merit.
And nobody has found a workable way to measure teacher performance as it relates to student performance, said Robin Steans, executive director of Advance Illinois, an education policy group.
"You can't find two merit programs that look alike, so it's complicated to draw any conclusions about how to do it in terms of making a difference in the classroom," said Steans, a former teacher.
Steans contends the statewide ISAT and PSAE -- tests the Sun-Times analysis used to calculate achievement rankings -- are flawed ways to measure progress because they aren't consistent from year to year.
Better tests are in the pipeline, but Steans said one thing that could be done now is to evaluate newer teachers more carefully before granting tenure.
"Right now, we grant tenure because you lasted four years,'' Steans said. "We don't look to see if you did a good job during those four years."
