Teachers' Pet Peeves

0 Comments | Insight on the News, Feb 21, 2000 | by Andrea Billups

A new study asserts that teachers earn substantially less than other college grads, a circumstance that has educators leaving the profession even as teacher shortages worsen nationwide.

A huge pay gap persists in teacher salaries when their education levels are compared with other professions, according to a just-released study of kindergarten-through-12th-grade education by the nonprofit journal Education Week.

While working professionals with bachelor's degrees earned salary increases averaging 17 percent from 1994 to 1998, teachers' wages rose only 1 percent for the same time period, according to the report. "It's shocking that the gap is so great, especially since, ultimately, it is students who are harmed when we treat teachers as second-class citizens," says National Education Association President Bob Chase.

The study looked at salaries and teacher hiring and retention practices and graded each state on its efforts at reform. It found that the salary gap varied from state to state, but one thing remained constant: Veteran educators were not rewarded financially for their perseverance, even if they earned advanced degrees.

Teachers age 22 to 28 earned $7,894 less on average than other college graduates of the same age. Those age 44 to 50 with master's degrees lagged behind their peers by more than $30,000. "I don't think this country values teaching," concludes Virginia B. Edwards, editor and publisher of Education Week. (The entire report can be found on the Web at www.edweek.org.)

The study was harsh on state efforts to ensure that new teachers know their subject matter. While 29 states require beginning teachers to pass tests in the subjects they plan to teach, all but New Jersey have created loopholes that allow them to disregard their own standards in some instances.

"Emergency credentials and out-of-field teaching should be eliminated," says Sandra Feldman, president of the American Federation of Teachers, who proposes that districts offer incentives to credentialed teachers to take more classes in their field or to encourage qualified veteran educators to stay on the job longer. "We can't afford to shortchange children because adults are unwilling to address this problem."

The research, the most current on the state of teaching in the United States, was conducted in 1999 and paid for by the Pew Charitable Trusts, a Philadelphia foundation. It was gleaned from federal surveys, interviews with state education officials and analysis of state policies, laws and regulations. Each state was graded on improvements in teacher quality, standards and accountability (whether students are tested for basic achievement in core subjects, for instance), school climate (such as class size, absenteeism and school choice) and resources (chiefly state spending on education). Connecticut received the highest marks. North Carolina South Carolina, Oklahoma and Texas also received good grades.

While teacher shortages and distribution problems have plagued many school districts nationwide -- and are predicted to worsen in the next 10 years -- the outlook for the future education workforce appears daunting, the report suggests. One in five new teachers left the profession after three years, with those who scored highest on the American College Testing exams and Scholastic Assessment Tests twice as likely to leave. New teachers who did not participate in "induction" programs mentored by veteran educators were twice as likely to leave teaching as those who did. Those who were unhappy with student discipline and their school's environment also were twice as likely to leave.

"We attract a pretty good group of people into the field, but the workplace drives them out," says Gary Galluzzo, dean of the college of education at George Mason University. "The states have not exercised their power or authority in increasing the working conditions at a local level."

School's Out for Teachers

A study on teacher quality and education standards, conducted by the nonprofit journal Education Week and paid for by the Pew Charitable Trusts, found that:

* 29 states require high-school teachers to pass tests in the subjects they teach; fewer than half the states expect middle-school teachers to earn subject-area licenses.

* 27 states offer loan-forgiveness programs or scholarship programs for prospective teachers, but only 18 target such programs to areas with critical shortages, such as in math and science.

* 27 states have Websites that advertise teaching vacancies, but most don't require all districts to participate; only nine allow teachers to submit resumes and job applications electronically.

* Close to half of the 1992-93 graduates who majored in education in college had never worked in a public school four years later.

* Nearly one in five college graduates who started teaching by 1993-94 had left the profession within three years.

* Despite a national teacher shortage and distribution problem, only Massachusetts offers signing bonuses to draw in more teachers. Maryland will offer such a program next year.