Why Can't We Talk About Differentiating Teacher Salaries?

New Jersey Left Behind:

Here's a striking synchronicity: on May 10th (last Thursday) in a Wall St. Journal  article about the recent release of U.S. students’ "deeply disappointing"; science scores on the NAEP national assessment, NJ Ed. Comm. Chris Cerf is quoted in the context of differentiating salaries for hard-to-fill positions like science and math:

The Obama administration and some state leaders, including the Republican governors of New Jersey and Iowa, in recent years have pushed districts to alter union contracts to allow higher salaries for teachers in sciences and other hard-to-staff subjects. Christopher Cerf, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's education commissioner, said the "market" for science teachers is highly competitive so schools should "use compensation creatively to maximize outcomes for kids." Teachers have insisted that pay changes be made only as part of broader contract negotiations, giving them more input into the process

On the same day the Journal article ran, NJ Assembly Democrats Mila Jasey, Albert Coutinho, Dan Benson, and Ralph Caputo issued a press release on the passage of a new bill intended "to address teacher shortages in math and science."

Posted by Jim Zellmer at May 16, 2012 4:02 AM
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