Differential Pay: New York
Retaining Effective Teachers Policy
Analysis of New York's policies
New York supports differential pay by which a teacher can
earn additional compensation by teaching certain subjects or working in a
high-need school. According to the state's Teachers of Tomorrow Teacher
Recruitment and Retention Program, those serving in a "teacher-shortage
area" are eligible for an annual award of $3,400, renewable each year for three
additional years. The state defines teacher-shortage areas as a public school
or subject that had a shortage of certified teachers in the previous school
year.
Recommendations for New York
As a result of New York’s strong differential pay policies, no recommendations are provided.
State response to our analysis
New York recognized the factual accuracy of this analysis. The state added that under the Strengthening Teacher and Leader Effectiveness (STLE) program, it has created an $83 million competitive grant opportunity aimed at encouraging and supporting qualifying LEAs to take a comprehensive approach to recruit, develop, support, retain and increase equitable access to great teachers and leaders as part of their implementation of the Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) system. Across a third of the state top talent was recognized, rewarded, and extended through career ladder pathway positions implemented as part of each grantee’s robust Teacher and Leader Effectiveness (TLE) continuum. Educators were compensated for additional roles and responsibilities as teacher and principal leaders working to address the unique needs of students and teachers.
New York further noted that the STLE grant was reflective of the Board of Regents’ comprehensive statewide strategy to support the continuous improvement of every educator with special emphasis on supporting high-need students, improving learning of English language learners and students with disabilities, advancing student learning in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) disciplines, and improving the equitable distribution of highly effective teachers and leaders.
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New York
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Delivering Well Prepared Teachers
- Admission into Teacher Preparation
- Elementary Teacher Preparation
- Elementary Teacher Preparation in Reading Instruction
- Elementary Teacher Preparation in Mathematics
- Early Childhood
- Middle School Teacher Preparation
- Secondary Teacher Preparation
- Secondary Teacher Preparation in Science and Social Studies
- Special Education Teacher Preparation
- Special Education Preparation in Reading
- Assessing Professional Knowledge
- Student Teaching
- Teacher Preparation Program Accountability
Expanding the Pool of Teachers
Identifying Effective Teachers
- State Data Systems
- Evaluation of Effectiveness
- Frequency of Evaluations
- Tenure
- Licensure Advancement
- Equitable Distribution
Retaining Effective Teachers
Exiting Ineffective Teachers
Pensions
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. 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.
Short of providing direct support, states can also use policy levers to
indicate to districts that differential pay is not only permissible but
necessary.
Differential Pay: Supporting Research
Two
recent studies emphasize the need for differential pay. In "Teacher Quality and Teacher Mobility", L. Feng and T. Sass find that 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. Calder Institute, Working Paper 57, January 2011.
Another study from T. Sass, et al., found that the least effective teachers
in high-poverty schools were considerably less effective than the least
effective teachers in low-poverty schools http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/1001469-calder-working-paper-52.pdf.
C. Clotfelter, E. Glennie, H. Ladd, and J. Vigdor, "Would Higher Salaries Keep Teachers in High-Poverty Schools? Evidence from a Policy Intervention in North Carolina," NBER Working Paper 12285, June 2006.
J. Kowal, B. Hassel, and E. Hassel, "Financial Incentives for Hard-To-Staff Positions: Cross-Sector Lessons for Public Education,"
Center for American Progress, November 2008.
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 S. Kirby, M. Berends, and S. Naftel, "Supply and Demand of Minority Teachers in Texas: Problems and
Prospects," Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, Volume 21, No. 1, March 20, 1999, pp. 47-66 at: http://epa.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/21/1/47.