Briefing: Speaking of Salaries: What It Will Take to Get Qualified, Effective Teachers in All Communities

By every measure of qualifications—certification, subject matter background, pedagogical training, selectivity of college attended, test scores, or experience—less-qualified teachers tend to be found in schools serving greater numbers of low-income and minority students. Studies in state after state have found that students of color in low-income schools are 3 to 10 times more likely to have unqualified teachers than students in predominantly white schools.

The paper Darling-Hammond and Adamson presented examines how teacher salaries and teacher qualifications vary across districts, and how this variation is related to student achievement. They analyzed data from California and New York to assess the extent to which unequal salaries, and the district revenues that underlie pay and working conditions, may be at the root of the inequitable distribution of teacher talent. Their findings have relevance for state and district policymakers, as well as reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, currently known as No Child Left Behind. 

FEATURED PANELISTS:
Linda Darling-Hammond, Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Education, Stanford University
Frank Adamson, Postdoctoral Scholar, Stanford University

DISCUSSANTS:
Bill Raabe, Director of Collective Bargaining & Member Advocacy, National Education Association
Roberto Rodriguez, Special Assistant to President Obama for Education, White House Domestic Policy Council
Saba Bireda, Deputy Director, Poverty & Race Research Action

COUNCIL MODERATOR:
Cynthia Brown, Vice President for Education Policy, Center for American Progress