High-Need Schools and Subjects: Rhode Island
Teacher Compensation Policy
Analysis of Rhode Island's policies
Shortage-Subject Areas: Rhode Island does not support differential pay by which a teacher can earn additional compensation by teaching certain subjects.
High-Need Schools: Rhode Island does not offer incentives to teach at high-need schools.
Recommendations for Rhode Island
Support
differential pay initiatives for effective teachers in both shortage-subject
areas and high-need schools.
Rhode Island should encourage districts to link
compensation to district needs. Such policies can help districts achieve a more
equitable distribution of teachers.
State response to our analysis
Rhode Island recognized the factual accuracy of this analysis. The state also asked: What would meet NCTQ expectations for what "support" means? What are some examples that aren't dictated by the state to every LEA and aren't only funded by the state? Would policy positions meet the expectation of support? "Our current RI status is similar to the next one. We don't have a formal policy, but LEAs may elect to pay higher salaries for shortage areas, for example."
Updated: March 2021
Last word
Although states should ensure that state-level policies (such as a uniform salary schedule) do not interfere with districts' flexibility in compensating teachers in ways that best meet their individual needs and resources, when it comes to addressing chronic shortages, states should do more than simply get out of the way. States should take steps to require additional compensation, especially for teachers teaching shortage subject areas and in high-needs schools—and ensure these policies are funded at adequate levels. A higher level of compensation may be the best way to ameliorate chronic shortages. Some states have yet to support differential pay but they do support incentives such as loan forgiveness, mortgage assistance, and tuition reimbursements and scholarships. While these incentives are certainly a step in the right direction, particularly in areas where budgetary constraints make it difficult to implement differential pay, they are unlikely to yield the same recruitment-related results. Many teachers may not find some of these support incentives meaningful because even the promise of bonuses and stipends may be viewed as unreliable from year to year, lessening their attractiveness.
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Rhode Island
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How we graded
8B: High-Need Schools and Subjects
- Shortage-Subject Areas: The state should support differential pay for effective teaching in shortage-subject areas.
- High-Need Schools: The state should support differential pay for effective teaching in high-need schools.
One-half of the total goal score is earned based on the following:
- One-half credit: The state will earn one-half of a point if it explicitly supports differential pay in subject areas where there is a demonstrated educator shortage.
- One-quarter credit: The state will earn one-quarter of a point if it partially supports differential benefits in subject areas where there is a demonstrated educator shortage (e.g., tuition reimbursement).
One-half of the total goal score is earned based on the following:
- One-half credit: The state will earn one-half of a point if it explicitly supports differential pay for teachers in high-need schools.
- One-quarter credit: The state will earn one-quarter of a point if it partially supports differential benefits for teachers in high-need schools (e.g., tuition reimbursement).
Research rationale
States should help address chronic shortages and needs. States should ensure that state-level policies (such as a uniform salary schedule) do not interfere with districts' flexibility in compensating teachers in ways that best meet their individual needs and resources. However, when it comes to addressing chronic shortages, states should do more than simply get out of the way. They should provide direct support for differential pay for effective teaching in shortage subject areas and high-need schools.[1] Attracting effective and qualified teachers to high-need schools or filling vacancies in hard-to-staff subjects are problems that are frequently beyond a district's ability to solve. States that provide direct support for differential pay in these areas are taking an important step in promoting the equitable distribution of quality teachers.[2] Short of providing direct support, states can also use policy levers to indicate to districts that differential pay is not only permissible but necessary.
[1] For research that suggests high performing teachers tend to transfer to schools with a large proportion of other high performing teachers and students, while low performing teachers cluster in bottom quartile schools, see: Feng, L., & Sass, T. R. (2016). Teacher quality and teacher mobility. Education Finance and Policy. Retrieved from http://www.urban.org/uploadedpdf/1001506-teacher-quality-teacher-mobility.pdf; Another study found that the least effective teachers in high-poverty schools were considerably less effective than the least effective teachers in low-poverty schools. See: Sass, T. R., Hannaway, J., Xu, Z., Figlio, D. N., & Feng, L. (2012). Value added of teachers in high-poverty schools and lower poverty schools. Journal of Urban Economics, 72(2), 104-122. Retrieved from http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/1001469-calder-working-paper-52.pdf
[2] Clotfelter, C., Glennie, E., Ladd, H., & Vigdor, J. (2008). Would higher salaries keep teachers in high-poverty schools? Evidence from a policy intervention in North Carolina. Journal of Public Economics, 92(5), 1352-1370. Retrieved from
Would Higher Salaries Keep Teachers in High-Poverty Schools? Evidence from a Policy Intervention in North Carolina; Kowal, J., Hassel, B. C., & Hassel, E. A. (2008). Financial incentives for hard-to-staff positions. Center for American Progress. Retrieved from https://www.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/issues/2008/11/pdf/hard_to_staff.pdf; A study by researchers at RAND found that higher pay lowered attrition, and the effect was stronger in high-needs school districts. Every $1,000 increase was estimated to decrease attrition by more than 6 percent. See: Kirby, S. N., Berends, M., & Naftel, S. (1999). Supply and demand of minority teachers in Texas: Problems and prospects. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 21(1), 47-66.