Monday, March 08, 1999
Report: Teachers unprepared
Pay boost among ways to improve
BY ANDREA TORTORA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Kentucky does not put enough emphasis on the relationship between teacher performance and student outcomes, and too many Kentucky teachers are unprepared for their subjects, according to a report released today.
The report lists numerous avenues for improving the quality of Kentucky teachers. It suggests tackling the issue is the next logical step in implementing the 1990 Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA).
Prepared by Stephen Clements for the Kentucky Long-Term Policy Research Center, the report found that teacher qualifications are nearly as important for a student's achievement levels as the socioeconomic status of his parents.
The issue is a hot one, with several task forces already studying state policy in preparation for a debate in the 2000 General Assembly.
Among the problems with Kentucky's teacher quality:
• 61 percent of middle school math teachers are teaching out of field. That means the teachers do not have a math teaching degree.
• 25 percent of all Kentucky teachers are expected to retire within three years.
• Kentucky teacher salaries rank 28th in the nation. Kentucky teachers earn an average of $34,000 a year, or 87 percent of the national average salary.
• Kentucky lacks the types of continuing professional development that change teaching behaviors.
The report says increasing teacher pay is one way to recruit more qualified people to the profession. It would take $1.75 billion over the next 10 years to increase teacher pay to the national average of $38,500.
Better ways to assess teacher quality could be achieved by a comprehensive data collection system, the report said. Tennessee uses Value Added Assessment to gauge teacher effectiveness. This statistical model measures student gains over time. Those gains or lack of improvement can then be traced back to a specific teacher.
Value Added Assessment was created by William Sanders, a professor at the University of Tennessee. “Of all the factors studied, the single largest factor for student performance is the effectiveness of the individual teacher,” Mr. Sanders said.
Other ways to improve teacher quality, according to the report, include:
• Grounding the profes sional development system in academic content.
• Examining and evaluating the state's teacher training system in subject-area preparation.
• Expanding alternative certification routes and creating a new incentive structure.
The report, “Kentucky's Teachers: Charting a Course for KERA's Second Decade,” is available from the Kentucky Long-Term Policy Research Center at (502) 573-2851 or ltprc@lrc.state.ky.us
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