SEDL’s Resource Allocation Studies Examination of Resource Allocation in Education: Connecting Spending to Student Performance States in study: Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Texas Results: Higher student performance is related to higher levels of resource allocation (fiscal and teacher resources) in instructional areas

SEDL’s Resource Allocation Studies Investigation of Education Databases in Four States to Support Policy Research on Resource Allocation States in study: Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Texas Results: State education data to study teacher resource allocation are generally available and accessible; however, variables of interest may not be due to accuracy, consistency, and database alignment limitations.

SEDL’s Resource Allocation Studies 2005 (to be complete in December) - Teacher Resources and Student Achievement in High Need Schools States in study: Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas Purpose of study Test whether current salary levels are significantly related to teacher experience and education Analyze distribution of teacher base salary, experience, and education for different school environment Investigate how teacher salary, experience, and education relate to math and reading student achievement in elementary and middle/junior high schools

What Do We Mean by Different School Environments? Urban, suburban, or rural Student minority and poverty enrollments Per-pupil instructional expenditures Family household income Level of parent education

What indicates a high-need school? Either rural or urban, and High minority student enrollment, and/or High poverty student enrollment, and/or Low student performance High minority = higher than 50% average non-white student enrollment High poverty = over 50% student enrollment participating in the free and reduced-priced lunch program Low student performance = lowest 25% on student achievement test Our Focus on High-Need Schools

Previous Research Tells Us 96.3 percent of U. S. public school districts use a single salary schedule (Schools and Staffing Survey data, National Center for Education Statistics, 2002) Teacher skills and knowledge are a better predictor of teacher effectiveness than years experience and education level (Odden & Kelley, 2002) On average, rural teachers’ salaries are $250 to $10,400 less than other teachers’ salaries (Reeves, 2003)

Previous Research Tells Us High-need schools have teacher resource deficits, including fewer teachers with graduate degrees, more inexperienced teachers, fewer state certified teachers, and less money allocated for these teachers’ salaries (Betts, Rueben, & Danenberg, 2000; Collins, 2003; Goldhaber & Brewer, 2000; Lankford, Loeb, & Wyckoff, 2002; Roza, Miles, & Foley, 2003)

Previous Research Tells Us Teacher salaries in high poverty and high minority schools in California are significantly less than in wealthy schools and those with predominantly white student enrollment (Education Trust-West, 2005) Link between teacher salaries, experience, education, or certification and student achievement is unclear, with conflicting findings suggesting positive, negative, and non-significant relationships (Hanushek, Kain, & Rivkin, 1999; Milanowski & Kimball, 2005; Rowan, Correnti, & Miller, 2002)

Data Sources Federal National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core Data Federal Census Bureau data State education agency data (teacher, school, district, fiscal, and student achievement) State teacher certification licensing agency data

Who Did We Study Regular, independent public schools with 4 th and 8 th grade achievement test results in reading and math

Who Did We Study Teachers providing core subject classroom instruction at least 75% time and only at one school

Teacher Salary Data

Teacher Experience and Education in Relation to Teacher Salary High student poverty and minority associated with low salaries Education and experience important components of salary Certified teachers made higher base salaries than uncertified teachers Salaries basically follow single salary schedule in all three states

Teacher Experience, Education, and Salary in High-Need Schools Compared to Other Schools

Teacher Resources and Student Achievement For 8th grade math achievement: In all three states, prior math achievement and student demographics are important predictors In Arkansas and Louisiana, teacher resources (such as salary, education, experience, and certification) do not play much of a role In Texas, teacher salary and traditional routes to certification are likely to tell you about student achievement

For Further Information Celeste 335 Debra Hughes 223 Diane 212 Zena Rudo 284 SEDL’s policy research reports can be accessed at: Southwest Educational Development Laboratory or