Report Says We Need Smarter Teachers

For some time, I've been hearing (and doubting) the argument that the majority of American teachers were themselves lower academic performers, than college students who entered other professions. Here's yet another report that makes this claim.

Below is a link to the report and an excerpt. I would love to hear others views on this. How accurate is the report? (I was one of the tops in my class, but apparently, I'm a minority--in more ways than one). Does this claim apply only to a certain sector of U.S. teachers (e.g., elementary vs. secondary)?  How much does it really impact students if their teacher is not from the top 1/3 of his/her class? If the data is correct, do you agree with the author's proposals of what it might take to change the situation? Is America ready to do what these other countries have done to improve the quality and the working conditions of its teaching force?

Closing the talent gap | Social Sector Office.

In a new report, “Closing the Talent Gap: Attracting and Retaining Top-Third Graduates to Careers in Teaching ,” we review the experiences of the top-performing systems in the world—Singapore, Finland, and South Korea. These countries recruit, develop, and retain the leading academic talent as one of their central education strategies, and they have achieved extraordinary results. In the United States, by contrast, only 23 percent of new teachers come from the top third, and just 14 percent in high poverty schools, where the difficulty of attracting and retaining talented teachers is particularly acute. The report asks what it would take to emulate nations that pursue this strategy if the United States decided it was worthwhile.

Comments

[EduExposure]

Hi Renee! First, I graduated with a degree in English from the University of Maryland.

In response to your question: "How much does it really impact students if their teacher is not from the top 1/3 of his/her class?" I am going to argue that it matters A LOT. I believe that if a teacher is not in the top third then that indicates that while they were a student themselves, they must not have appreciated the value of an education, or at least of the school system. There is, however, always the chance that they have changed their ways...but the report can't quantify that. On the other hand, if the teachers did not graduate in the top third but tried tremendously to do so, then there is the unfortunate possibility that they might not be that bright. But look at me, for example. I graduated in the top third and have always cared about education, but at this point am not a teacher myself. Interestingly, this report says US teachers make the most of any country...So is it really a salary issue here? I just don't know.

[TeachMoore]

Thanks for your feedback.

While the report does say US teachers make more relative to teachers in other countries, the more pertinent question may be what teachers here make compared to those with similar levels of training--particularly if we're talking about people who graduated at the top of their class. What else could they be doing that not only pays more, but offers better working conditions and higher prestige?

Not everyone wants to be or needs to be a teacher. I'm not convinced that simply plucking off the top 1/3 based on college course grades is all that great of a criteria for selecting future teachers. Effective teaching requires so much more than just academic content knowledge.

[pamzella]

"While the report does say US teachers make more relative to teachers in other countries, the more pertinent question may be what teachers here make compared to those with similar levels of training..." Exactly. In CA, a credential is 50-52 units now, a masters another 30, for a total of 82 units. (And for many positions, and on it's way to all, a masters is necessary to be considered "highly qualified" under NCLB regs. Add in the required prof dev units in the first few years and many teachers are pushing closer to 90. An MBA or JD is 54 units, a PhD is 72. Yet a new teacher's salary is about 40K, and those other jobs 125K or higher. We may also have more top-tier teachers than we think, but they do the math and realize that if they are going to get paid the same (or within 2K of each other), taking on more loans for the same units for a more expensive/prestigious school is personal financial poison to an already underpaid career path.

I do think what teachers are paid is a reflection of how the public sees their worth, and if it is 35% of the MBA, the JD, the MD, the [insert here] with the same number of years in school/post-BA units, then some people who would consider teaching and who might be the cream of the crop in the field if they did would say, "I can't raise a family/buy a house/retire before I'm dead on that," and do something else that may be less satisfying on a daily basis but gets them closer to their long-term goals.

[gasstationwithoutpumps]

A PhD is not that highly paid: a postdoc in biology makes maybe $50k after 7 years of grad school with no security of employment. An engineering professor with 29 years of experience (like me) makes a little over $100k (with a fairly high variance). (A BS in engineering makes almost as much straight out of school.)

There is evidence at the college level that the students choosing an education major are disproportionately from the bottom half of the class, and that classes intended for education majors are less difficult than courses having similar content for other majors.

Education is not the bottom of the heap (what that is varies from school to school, depending on which department has kept lowering their standards to attract more majors---here it happens to be psychology).

[Mindy Sanjana]

Interesting how quickly this discussion has moved to salary! Let's face it, teachers are on the public payroll. They will never make the salaries that similarly well-educated people make in the private sector. But, if you are a lawyer for the Justice Department or an FBI agent, your poor pay is supplemented by power and public status. If a similarly-educated person works for a major newpaper as a columnist, her salary would again be supplemented by staus and the opportunity to make extra money on the conference circuit. It's not really pay per se, but status that ultimately lures smart, prestigiously-educated would-be teachers away from the classroom. (And all of this Race-to-the Top, NCLB analysis of how teachers are the MAIN REASON kids aren't learning sure doesn't bring us added status!)What percentage of Teach for America kids actually stay in the teaching field? Going into "policy" is so much more prestigious, even if it doesn't pay a lot!

[Linda Mayger]

I think that having smart teachers makes a huge difference in the classroom. Not only does graduating toward the top of your class indicate that you value education and that you know your stuff, but you need some brainpower in order to do the problem solving that is necessary to succeed in today's classroom.

How do we attract better quality applicants? I was a top student and what attracted me to the profession was autonomy, the chance to be creative in a lot of different areas, and a schedule that would help me parent my kids. I took a break from teaching while my kids were young and when I came back I did not even look at being a public school teacher- creativity and autonomy are gone there. I work at a charter school now where they treat me like a professional who can make sound decisions about educating my students. Why would a smart, highly educated person want to be told what to do and when to do it every day, whether or not it makes sense in the context of the situation? You couldn't pay me enough to do that.

[Jason Buell]

Let me follow the train of thought:

1. Our education system is broken.
2. One reason is because teachers weren't able to succeed in the current system.
3. In order to reform the current system we need only people who have succeeded in the current system.

So...if I've succeeded in this system, the first thing I'm going to do is go about trying to completely overhaul it?