Improving teacher quality is no simple task. While research convincingly shows that teacher quality is the most important schooling factor influencing student achievement, there does not appear to be any specific credential or characteristic that is a silver-bullet predictor of quality. Consequently, policymakers and education advocates may wish to address teacher performance through a focus on teacher workforce policies—that is, policies that are based on a teacher’s actual demonstrated classroom performance.
Join us for a discussion as policy leaders consider a new paper by Dan Goldhaber that suggests that compensation is a key workforce policy that holds promise for education reform aimed at improving student performance. Goldhaber explores research findings on teachers’ responsiveness to monetary incentives as well as significant obstacles facing policymakers who wish to use compensation as a tool for influencing the quality of the teacher workforce. His paper argues that pay reform holds potential and offers recommendations for those who wish to see teacher pay reforms successfully implemented.
Featured Participants:
Alice Johnson Cain, Senior Education Aide, Office of Congressman George Miller (D-CA)
Dan Goldhaber, Research Associate Professor, Evans School of Public Affairs, University of Washington
Bill Raabe, Director of Collective Bargaining & Member Advocacy, National Education Association
Rachel B. Tompkins, President, Rural and Community Trust
Moderator:
Cynthia G. Brown, Director of Education Policy, Center for American Progress