First let’s look at teacher pay in Florida. I don’t know when the idea started that teachers are overpaid, but suddenly you can’t attend a public meeting without hearing about how teachers are paid outrageous salaries with extravagant benefits while ‘real people’ struggle to make ends meet. Is there evidence that this is true? In Florida, the average salary for someone with a bachelor’s degree in any field is $41,701 per year. Surely a teacher’s pay must be much higher, right? Wrong. The average teacher with a bachelor’s degree earns $38,452. Approximately two thirds of all teachers have only a bachelor’s degree. In the case of teachers with masters degrees, the average teacher earns $46,622 compared to all people with a masters degree who earn $55,200 per year. In both cases, then, teachers are paid less than their private sector counterparts.
But I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, “But Rob, the teachers get all kinds of great benefits, and their counterparts in the private sector don’t.” Well, what does the Bureau of Labor Statistics have to say about that? Among ‘professional and related’ occupations which include teachers and the private sector groups we are comparing to, 77% of the private workers have pension plans while 91% of public school teachers have such plans. And health care? 82% of private professional workers have health care compared to 89% of teachers. So what do the numbers show? Teachers earn less than their private counterparts, and only have marginally more access to benefits than their counterparts. We have to conclude, in terms of overall compensation, teacher compensation rates including benefits is right in line with their private sector counterparts.
Then the question is, are we getting quality performance in return for the money we spend? Recently the State of Florida instituted a school grading and accountability system to evaluate the performance of our public schools. The system grades traditional public schools and public charter schools (the last ‘great answer’ to America’s education woes) with a letter grade just like our kids receive. Considering the drastic measures the State is set to take against teachers, the obvious conclusion is that most schools must be failing, right? And the answer is? 51% of school districts in Florida earned a grade of A on the state assessment. An additional 39% earned a grade of B, while 7% received a C. That totals to 98%. Last year the State told the teachers, “This is what we are going to grade you on.” 98% of the time the schools received at least a C by the measures they were given. If, on your job you reached your performance targets with at least a grade of C 98% of the time and your boss came back to you the following year and said, “We are going to cut your pay based on merit because you are not getting the job done,” what would your response be? The only sensible conclusion is that, if the schools are not performing as well as we would like, the reasons have to lie elsewhere rather than with teachers. Where else? Well let’s see. The legislators set mandatory performance criteria which the teachers met 98% of the time with at least a grade of C. My simple little brain tells me if the teachers were successful in meeting criteria which didn’t give the legislators the results they wanted, maybe, just maybe, the problem lies with the legislators and their criteria. Maybe we shouldn’t change how we pay teachers. Maybe we should look at how we pay legislators.
The second issue is whether teaching children to take standardized tests is really the best way to teach? The American Society for Quality interviewed the creators and designers of standardized tests and asked this question. The answer was a resounding “no.” There is so much emphasis on testing today that the test has become the end in itself. Forcing teachers to teach to a standardized test as their primary function has clearly resulted in score gains. But according to experts, these gains are ephemeral. Since there isn’t a corresponding increase in deeper understanding and critical thinking skills, then simply changing the test eliminates most or all of the gains. Some critics argue, therefore, that we need to change the test to a “better test.” Clearly testing has its place in education or the benchmarking of progress would not be possible, but simply making “the test” better does not seem to be the answer. If it was, then the standardized testing craze the nation has been going through for the last 10 years would be showing progress. Measurement is key, but the most important aspect is deciding what to measure. Perhaps the real answer lies in defining effective measures that can be standardized and used throughout the school year to measure real educational progress in a way that can be compared across schools. Then maybe, the teachers will be able to get back to the teaching of reading, math and science rather than more test taking skills.
And third, blaming the teacher for performance in the classroom completely ignores the tremendous socioeconomic challenges that are happening outside the classroom. This is not to make excuses for anyone in terms of their ability to succeed. Show me somebody with a challenge and I will find someone who overcame that challenge to achieve greatness. But it’s also true that statistically, a class with twice the number of single parent families, with parents working multiple jobs to pay the bills, with a fraction of the number of high school or college grads, and many other conditions, will underperform a class without similar challenges. That is not the teachers fault. It may be a fact that schools have to find ways to overcome such socioeconomic challenges, but to put all of that burden on the teacher is unreasonable and will drive many good teachers right out of the field. And it Is the students from these classes who will be left behind in disproportionate numbers when vouchers suck the top performers out of these schools to private or parochial schools. Reasonable people can debate whether the school classroom is really the best place to address the challenges such children have, but the reality is that these children are there already and something needs to be done.
Until policy makers start looking at these other issues rather than for an easy way to say “we did something,” then the problem won’t be solved. Teachers are doing the jobs they’ve been asked to do. The numbers show that. The policy makers now have to do their part in putting together a system that can win for our children. My beloved Dolphins once had arguably the greatest passing quarterback to ever play the game matched up with great receivers in the “Marks Brothers.” But in the end, after more than twenty seasons, Dan Marino had exactly zero championships. That fact didn’t diminish his talent. But the reality was that the team management never put him into a complete system that could win it all. Football is a game. Marino is wealthy and successful today. But the education of our children is no game. Their future and the future of our great country hangs in the balance.
