The “Master’s Pay Bump”
Comments: 2 - Date: January 5th, 2010 - Categories: Uncategorized
Q: “After all if there is no link between the subject matter of the degree and what the teacher does, nor an imperative to improve teacher performance in return for higher pay, the current compensation system rewards the path of least resistance.”
Q: Has there been research done on teachers who earn a masters degree directly connected or in the same subject that they teach? What have been the outcomes, looking at student performance? Is there then a correlation? Looking for data…
C: I have to be completely honest, although I don’t hold a masters degree, I was a strong supporter of teachers who earned a masters degree to be on a higher level of the pay scale versus those that do not have one. It wasn’t until I began to read the article that the other side made sense. I was under the impression that the masters degree had to be directly tied to what the teacher was teaching, it made sense. If a high school Spanish teacher was in the process of getting her masters, wouldn’t it make sense for her to pursue a masters in an area that would strengthen her teaching practices. But maybe she is getting a masters in business administration or in biology, I don’t know. Maybe schools should look into what masters degrees teachers hold before assigning them a higher pay scale. I understand why those studies mentioned in the article, that there is no correlation between students performance and teachers who hold a masters degree.
Key points that I want to keep in mind as I work on obtaining my masters:
- “They would seek out masters programs oriented towards genuinely improving classroom effectiveness.”
- ”Use data,”
- “immediate feedback loop on effectiveness of programs ”
I think if I keep these practice near and dear to the purpose of why I am working on a masters degree it will keep everything in perspective, and keep me grounded without being concerned about issues of money or pay scales.
Comment by bdelgado - January 7, 2010 @ 9:21 am
Yoli, I, too, was under the assumption that master’s degree had to be linked to what was happening in the class. I mean, it would seem an absurd waste of time if it wasn’t. It makes me curious to look into the curriculum at ed schools just to see what is happening. If the time were there, it might be interesting just to go sit in on a few classes at different schools just to get a sense of what the program is like.
I appreciate the three key points you took from the article. I’m trying to work more and more on numbers 2 and 3 in my own class. This article was a good reminder of that.
Comment by karenevans - January 13, 2010 @ 11:21 pm
Hi Yoli,
Interesting point: perhaps we should base the pay on how well the master’s helps the teacher perform her/his job better? I know people who are pursuing or hold master’s degrees that don’t really apply to what they teach (although the same can be said of bachelor’s degrees in some cases…) This would at least be a sensible starting point. Like me, though, it sounds like the article got you wondering about the quality of the programs too–haven’t you seen the popup ads on the computer: “get your MA online in a year!” Are these really quality programs? How do we know?
You also made me think about my own purpose in pursuing my master’s and I liked that you turned this article on to your own life. It feels good to be engaged with learning that I believe will help me do my job better–and it is a cherry on top if it earns me extra pay (although my school doesn’t currently have a pay scale to calculate from…)
~Karen
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