Policy Decisions to make on Teacher Compensation Prepared for the Washington Learns K-12 Advisory Committee April 18, 2006 Lawrence O. Picus and Associates

2 Allan Odden and Lawrence O. Picus Ambitious Goals Double student performance by the year 2020 Students must learn more content and be able to use it to solve problems in order to be successful in the high wage jobs of the knowledge-based 21 st century, global economy So the 3 Rs of the 20 th century are not sufficient Need 6 Rs for the 21 st century

3 Allan Odden and Lawrence O. Picus The 6 Rs of K-12 Reform ….. Recalibrate outcome goals to the rigorous demands of the knowledge-based, 21 st century global economy Double current levels of achievement Reduce if not close the achievement gap Re-engineer schools so that all current and any new dollars are used in more effective, evidence-based ways

4 Allan Odden and Lawrence O. Picus The 6 Rs of K-12 Reform ….. Redesign teacher development, so teachers have the instructional capacity to educate all students to thinking, problem solving & communication Reinforce the learning of struggling students through extended learning opportunities and re-engaging families and communities in schools

5 Allan Odden and Lawrence O. Picus The 6 Rs of K-12 Reform ….. Retool the technology infra-structure of schools to position them to tap the teaching potential of the Internet as powerful education strategies come on-line Restructure teacher compensation so that pay raises are linked to enhanced instructional expertise and annual bonuses are provided for increased student achievement

6 Allan Odden and Lawrence O. Picus Embrace NCLB performance goals …. If not all students, at least 90 percent of students to or above proficiency standards If not by 2014 then by 2020 Knowing we can get there if we Have a clear vision Use our reform strategies as a lens to focus efforts and energies

7 Allan Odden and Lawrence O. Picus Contents 1.Goals and Objectives for a Salary Structure Aligned with Washington’s strategic education policy and teacher development 2.Policy decisions for a new salary structure 3.Policy decisions for a bonus program based largely on student performance

8 Allan Odden and Lawrence O. Picus 1. Goals for an Aligned Pay Structure Recruit and retain high quality teachers In all districts In places experiencing shortages Urban and some rural districts Some content areas – math, science, technology, etc. Provide incentives for teachers to develop their instructional expertise to world class levels, with a focus on problem solving and application Provide incentives for improving student academic achievement – for all students

9 Allan Odden and Lawrence O. Picus Specific Objectives to Attain Goals Set market competitive salary levels Adjust average salary levels by regional indices to ensure adequate salaries for urban and rural districts Provide wage premiums for shortage areas: Math and science High poverty schools Rural, isolated schools Identify an instructional vision that can attain these goals and an aligned teacher performance assessment system, and use the results in a new pay structure Ensure Washington’s teacher development system aligns with the new instructional vision Incorporate student performance targets into a new teacher pay element, such as a bonus program

10 Allan Odden and Lawrence O. Picus The Features of a New Pay System for Teachers ….. Comparable wages for comparable jobs Hike average pay to average of jobs comparable to teaching Provide wage premiums for math and science Adjust averages by comparable wage index to correctly position teacher wages in each regional labor market of the state

11 Allan Odden and Lawrence O. Picus The Features of a New Pay System for Teachers ….. Link pay increases to teacher development and education goals Category 1: Residency certificate Category 2: Professional certificate – could be strengthened by also having a performance eval too Category 3: Career – needs development Category 4: Master – needs development Plus National Board Certification incentive Limited/focused incentive for Masters and Doctorate/Specialist – only in area of basic licensure

12 Allan Odden and Lawrence O. Picus 2a. Policy decisions for a new salary structure – salary levels What should the average teacher salary benchmark be? Imazeki report suggests about a $1300 increase from average of ~$45,500 (NEA) v. ($45,200 in BLS) to ~$46,800, v. $45,738 actual in SAM, or Use current estimated average of Base + TRI of about $51,000, which excludes stipends for sports and clubs?

13 Allan Odden and Lawrence O. Picus 2b. Policy decisions for a new salary structure – wage premiums What should the wage premiums be for the following: Math and science teachers $5000 at least? $10,000? Hard to staff/high poverty schools? $5000?? For geographic differences re urban and rural issues Regional indices based on comparable wages from Imazeki report for geographic differences?

14 Allan Odden and Lawrence O. Picus 2c. Policy decisions for a new salary structure – knowledge and skills Should the current SAM be replaced by a KSBP structure on next page? If not, what type of alternative? If so, what should be the following parameters? Beginning salary: $30,383 or A figure that would produce an average in old SAM of $46,800?

15 Allan Odden and Lawrence O. Picus

16 Allan Odden and Lawrence O. Picus 2d. Policy decisions for a new salary structure – knowledge and skills Salary increase across performance categories? 10% Want to differentiate by category? Salary increase for steps within performance categories 1.5% Salary increase for MA, Doctorate/Specialist 10% Restrict degree to teaching license Salary increase for National Board Certification $6000 or some percentage Salary stipend for special roles Mentor teachers, etc.; a $5000 stipend?

17 Allan Odden and Lawrence O. Picus 2e. Policy decisions for a new salary structure – knowledge and skills What is the proposal for creating a performance assessment system needed to operate the system: Use Residency Certificate for Level 1? Use Professional Certification for Level 2, which requires a professional growth plan? Could replace or augment with a score of 2 on following performance assessment systems Use a performance evaluation for Levels 3 and 4 – TEC system, Connecticut adaptation, or what?

18 Allan Odden and Lawrence O. Picus A Performance Evaluation Aligned with Ongoing PD Performance evaluation usually has teaching standards and scoring rubrics, to four levels of performance Based largely on a curriculum-unit based instructional portfolio – National Board, CT, IN, TEC

19 Allan Odden and Lawrence O. Picus Standards-Based Professional Development Organize professional development around creating and refining standards- based curriculum units Lesson plans Instructional strategies Formal and informal assessments Reflections If just add videos of actual instruction, have PD and teacher assessment tightly couples

20 Allan Odden and Lawrence O. Picus 3. Policy decisions for a bonus program based largely on student performance Assuming of all teachers (60,000) that half are in schools that would qualify for the bonus, and that the average bonus would be $3000, we estimate the cost of such a program at $90+ million Do you want to recommend such a bonus program? If so, then we need to design one