SEDL’s Resource Allocation Studies

2003 - Examination of Resource Allocation in Education: Connecting Spending to Student Performance

States in study: Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Texas

Results:

Higher student performance is related to higher levels of resource allocation (fiscal and teacher resources) in instructional areas

SEDL’s Resource Allocation Studies

2004 - Investigation of Education Databases in Four States to Support Policy Research on Resource Allocation

States in study: Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Texas

Results:

State education data to study teacher resource allocation are

generally available and accessible; however, variables of interest

may not be due to accuracy, consistency, and database alignment

limitations.

SEDL’s Resource Allocation Studies

2005 (to be complete in December) - Teacher Resources and Student Achievement in High Need Schools

States in study: Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas

Purpose of study• Test whether current salary levels are significantly related to teacher

experience and education• Analyze distribution of teacher base salary, experience, and

education for different school environment• Investigate how teacher salary, experience, and education relate to

math and reading student achievement in elementary and middle/junior high schools

What Do We Mean by Different School Environments?

• Urban, suburban, or rural

• Student minority and poverty enrollments

• Per-pupil instructional expenditures

• Family household income

• Level of parent education

What indicates a high-need school?• Either rural or urban, and

• High minority student enrollment, and/or

• High poverty student enrollment, and/or

• Low student performance

High minority = higher than 50% average non-white student enrollment

High poverty = over 50% student enrollment participating in the free and reduced-priced lunch program

Low student performance = lowest 25% on student achievement test

Our Focus on High-Need Schools

Previous Research Tells Us

• 96.3 percent of U. S. public school districts use a single salary schedule (Schools and Staffing Survey data, National Center for Education Statistics, 2002)

• Teacher skills and knowledge are a better predictor of teacher effectiveness than years experience and education level (Odden & Kelley, 2002)

• On average, rural teachers’ salaries are $250 to $10,400 less than other teachers’ salaries (Reeves, 2003)

Previous Research Tells Us

• High-need schools have teacher resource deficits, including fewer teachers with graduate degrees, more inexperienced teachers, fewer state certified teachers, and less money allocated for these teachers’ salaries (Betts, Rueben, & Danenberg, 2000; Collins, 2003; Goldhaber & Brewer, 2000; Lankford, Loeb, & Wyckoff, 2002; Roza, Miles, & Foley, 2003)

Previous Research Tells Us

• Teacher salaries in high poverty and high minority schools in California are significantly less than in wealthy schools and those with predominantly white student enrollment (Education Trust-West, 2005)

• Link between teacher salaries, experience, education, or certification and student achievement is unclear, with conflicting findings suggesting positive, negative, and non-significant relationships (Hanushek, Kain, & Rivkin, 1999; Milanowski & Kimball, 2005; Rowan, Correnti, & Miller, 2002)

Data Sources

• Federal National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core Data

• Federal Census Bureau data

• State education agency data (teacher, school, district, fiscal, and student achievement)

• State teacher certification licensing agency data

Who Did We Study

Regular, independent public schools with 4th and 8th grade achievement test results in reading and math

School data Arkansas Louisiana Texas

Number of schools 914 1,033 4,671

Percent of urban schools 19 30 44

Percent of suburban schools 28 36 34

Percent of rural schools 53 34 22

Percent of students FRPL (free/reduced lunch) 55 68 55

Percent of schools >50% FRPL 60 77 57

Student race/ethnicity (%)

White 73 47 43

African American 22 50 13

Asian .5 1 2

American Indian .5 1 <1

Hispanic 4 2 41

Achievement tests 2002-2003Benchmark

2002-2003LEAP-21

2001-2002TAAS

Who Did We Study

Teachers providing core subject classroom instruction at least 75% time and only at one school

Teacher characteristic data Arkansas Louisiana Texas

Number of teachers in study 22,186 19,379 150,248

Percent of teachers with master’s degree or above 33 25 21

Average years of teacher experience 13 13 12

Percent of teachers with 0-2 years experience 17 15 22

Percent of teachers with standard certification 95 95 75

Percent of teachers with alternative certification 5 2 9

Percent of female teachers 87 90 87

Percent of minority teachers 11 27 30

Teacher Salary DataTeacher salary data Arkansas Louisiana Texas

Average teacher salary 36,380 34,695 39,102

Average rural teacher salary 33,911 33,776 36,185

% Rural public schools 53 34 22

% Students enrolled in rural schools 40 28 12

Average urban teacher salary 39,999 35,600 40,106

% Urban public schools 19 30 44

% Students enrolled in urban schools 25 33 52

Average suburban teacher salary 36,734 34,695 38,785

% Suburban public schools 28 36 34

% Students enrolled in suburban schools 35 39 36

Teacher Experience and Education in Relation to Teacher Salary

• High student poverty and minority associated with low

salaries

• Education and experience important components of

salary

• Certified teachers made higher base salaries than

uncertified teachers

• Salaries basically follow single salary schedule in all

three states

Teacher Experience, Education, and Salary in High-Need Schools Compared to Other Schools

Arkansas Louisiana Texas

High-need schoolcharacteristics

Lowerteachersalary

Lowerteacher

education

Lowerteachersalary

Lowerteacher

education

Lowerteachersalary

Lowerteacher

education

High studentpoverty

3 3 3 3

High studentminority

3 3

Rural location 3 3 3 3

Low studentachievement inmath

3 3 3 3

Teacher Resources and Student Achievement

For 8th grade math achievement:

• In all three states, prior math achievement and student

demographics are important predictors

• In Arkansas and Louisiana, teacher resources (such as

salary, education, experience, and certification) do not

play much of a role

• In Texas, teacher salary and traditional routes to

certification are likely to tell you about student

achievement

For Further Information

Celeste Alexander calexan@sedl.org ext. 335Debra Hughes Jones djones@sedl.org ext. 223Diane Pan dpan@sedl.org ext. 212Zena Rudo zrudo@sedl.org ext. 284

SEDL’s policy research reports can be accessed at:http://www.sedl.org/rel/pr_resources.html

Southwest Educational Development Laboratory476-6861 or 1-800-476-6861

www.sedl.org