Transforming District Resources to Improve Teaching and Learning: State Options & Priorities

Rethinking Resources for Student Success

Transforming District Resources to Improve

Teaching and Learning: State Options & Priorities

CCSSO Moving Forward: State Resource Allocation

Workshop

November 16, 2011

Education Resource Strategies 2

Why it’s a historic moment for states

Defining priorities for states in restructuring

resources to improve teaching effectiveness

Defining a state approach

Break-out session to identify and prioritize state

action

Agenda


Overall the number of teachers has increased, but the basic structure of schooling has remained the same

Source: Digest of Education Statistics 2007: Tables 61, 64, and 66


We’ve bought more staff, instead of investing in knowledge, skills and support

Source: The Parthenon Group, 2007 from NCES; Educational Research Service; Parthenon Analysis

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Growth in Per Pupil Expenditure (1970 to 2005)

Increase in number of

Non-Teachers

(excl. SPED)

Increase in Number of

Teachers (excl. SPED)

Increase in SPED staff

All other non-staff

Increase in Benefits Rate


The nation would need 1 million fewer teachers

Professional Growth spending could be focused on fewer,

abler teachers

Average teacher salaries could be $80,000 per year

If teacher-student ratios had stayed at 1970 levels…

Source: Federick M Hess , “Rethinking the Teacher Quality Challenge, 2011 PIE Network Summit Policy Brief


Budget gaps are systemic due to a fundamental cost structure that continues to rise regardless of revenue

• Longevity based teaching

salaries grow at ~2-4% annually

• Benefits growing

at ~10+% annually

• SPED spending continues to

grow

• Pre-set COLA increases

• Tax revenue falling

• Enrollment declining

• Sudden drop in Federal Funds


• 21st century labor force demanding new approaches to compensation, work place organization and job design

• The launching of Common Core learning standards

• Emphasis on revamping Teacher Evaluation raises profile of and need for systemic and coordinated effort

• New technologies and understanding learning require

different models of instructional delivery

Meanwhile the context demands state action..


Revise funding systems to ensure equitable, transparent and flexible funding.

Restructure compensation to link to individual and team contribution.

Rethink standardized class size models to target individual attention.

Use existing time better and extend time in critical areas to meet student needs.

Redirect Special Education spending to early intervention and targeted individual attention in general education settings.

Develop leadership capacity by redirecting spending from compliance and monitoring to support and training.

Leverage technology & community partners.

This summer we talked about “Tough Times Restructuring Priorities” for school districts


…and the tough choices and trade-offs districts must make to move toward transformed practice

For the same cost a typical 25,000 student urban district can:

ERS’ District Reallocation Modeler (DREAM)

Reduce class sizes

grades 4-12 by 2

Pay the top contributing

15% of teachers 10K

more OR

Eliminate automatic

COLA and modify based

on actual costs and

revenue increase

Allow benefits spending

to increase by 10% OR

Implement new teacher

evaluation system & add

60 minutes of

Collaborative Time

Add 60 minutes of

school day in the 25%

lowest performing

schools

OR









action

Objectives and Agenda


Revise funding systems to ensure equitable, transparent and flexible funding

Restructure compensation to link to individual and team contribution.

Rethink standardized class size models to target individual attention.

Use existing time better and extend time in critical areas to meet student needs.

Redirect Special Education spending to early intervention and targeted individual attention in general education settings.

Develop leadership capacity by redirecting

spending from compliance and monitoring to support and training.

Leverage technology & community partners.

The state can have a huge impact by promoting a transformational approach to improving teaching effectiveness by…..

…supporting districts to

create a comprehensive

talent management

system

that focuses on

continuous improvement

of teaching effectiveness

and not just hiring and

firing

“Tough Time Restructuring Priorities”


Defines, measures and reports teaching effectiveness to inform hiring, retention, placement, professional growth opportunities, and

compensation

Structures compensation to attract and retain the highest quality

teaching force

Offers career paths that attract, grow and leverage talent and expertise

Hires and assigns talented individuals to work in teams that match

expertise to needs of the job

Provides job-embedded opportunities for professional growth through

teaming and collaborative planning time.

Improves individual capacity by providing differentiated professional

growth opportunities linked to needs as identified through evaluation

A comprehensive Talent Management System:

Today’s Focus


To understand how States can support districts take a transformational approach to improving teaching effectiveness they need to understand...

Where school

districts are

now

The obstacles

in the way

Where school

districts must

be


What should it look like? Structures compensation to attract and retain the highest quality teaching force

Attract a high

performing teaching

force

Competitive compensation

package at entry

Retain a high performing teaching force

Competitive compensation

package for effective

performers over time

Motivate a high

performing teaching

force

Differentiated compensation

that provides incentives for

contribution

Align a high performing

teaching force with district performance

goals

Differentiated compensation

reflecting the challenge of

the assignment

BY PROVIDING

BY PROVIDING

BY PROVIDING

BY PROVIDING


What does it currently look like? Compensation

Attract Starting teacher salaries not

competitive with comparable

professional opportunities or

differentiated for high value expertise

Retain Single salary schedule pays all teachers

the same regardless of performance.

Pension structure encourages low

performers to stay.

Motivate

Lane structure provides permanent

increases for one-time learning.

Align Inconsistent or Insufficient incentives for

taking on greater challenges or playing

leadership roles

NO

NO

NO

NO


Lowest Quarter Middle Quarters Highest Quarter

26%

20%

15%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

ImpliedRetention Rate

62% 50% 40%

The teaching profession is attracting lower quality candidates; while compensation structure is not the only reason, it is a major factor

Note: Females in the “top of their high school class” refer to those females whose high school test scores ranked in the top decile

Sources: The Parthenon Group, 2007 from NCES; Hoxby and Leigh (2003); Corcoran, Schwab, Evans (2002)

1965 1992

20%

4%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

PERCENTAGE OF FEMALES FROM THE TOP OF

THEIR HIGH SCHOOL CLASS WHO ENTER

TEACHING, 1965-1992

PERCENTAGE OF 1992-93 BACHELOR DEGREE

RECIPIENTS WHO WERE CURRENT OR FORMER TEACHERS

BY COLLEGE ENTRANCE EXAM SCORE, 2003

Pe

rce

nt

of Fe

ma

les

Pe

rce

nta

ge

of B

ac

he

lor

De

gre

e R

ec

ipie

nts


It takes teachers almost a decade longer to reach peak earnings than it does for other professionals


Even though salary components are the same, the details differ significantly across districts…creating different incentives

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100% Performance

Pay

National Board

Certification

Leadership

Roles

Education

Experience

TOTAL POSSIBLE RAISES OVER TEACHER’S CAREER

Source: Salary Schedules and Teacher Contracts.

Total Possible

Raise $47k $54k $42k $61k $55k $60K $48k $47k $56k $42k $50k $49k $50k

% Over

Base 124% 156% 92% 142% 122% 135% 113% 115% 131% 117% 111% 134% 128%


This typical district devotes less than 2% of all teacher compensation spending to reward increased teacher contribution or performance

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

District with Senior Teacher

Force

$500 Million

42%

7%

27%

24%

>1%

Benefits

Responsibility & Results

Longevity

Education

Base

Source: ERS Analysis


A single salary structure with automatic lane and step increases,

combined with COLA, forces the district to invest significantly in

characteristics that research shows do not impact student achievement.

Assumptions:

•Base salary, education and step all increase by 2.1% COLA

•Same size teacher workforce & no attrition savings

•Benefits pegged at 34% of salary

District A’s Projected Teacher

Compensation Costs

Across all the teachers in the

district, this adds up to an

additional $7-9 million next year or

$40-50 million by FY15 just to pay the salary and benefit increases

of the existing workforce

$7m = laying off 88 teachers at avg.

compensation OR 127 first year teachers

$40m= laying off 416 teachers at avg.

compensation OR 657 first year teachers

$-

$50

$100

$150

$200

$250

$300

$350

FY10 FY11 FY15

Benefits

Other pay

Longevity

Education

Base

$258m

$266-$268m

$298-$309m


This is not to suggest district should invest less in teaching effectiveness, just that they should change the nature of their investment

Educational Attainment

Experience Performance

Contribution


Small reductions in class size make little difference in student

performance unless class sizes are reduced to 13-17 student or lower;

and can even work against teaching quality efforts

If slicing the current pie is not sufficient to meet compensation goals, then districts need to find ways to reallocate resources to make a bigger pie

Class size

reduction

Need for

MORE

high

quality

teachers

$ for

additional

PD


What should it look like? Provides job-embedded

opportunities for professional growth through

teaming and collaborative planning time.


What does it look like? Providing real-time job-embedded

professional growth opportunities through teaming and

collaborative planning time.

Deliberate

assignment to

teaching teams

Depends on principal capacity to recognize

teaching expertise because Information on

teaching effectiveness not systematically

collected or made accessible to principals.

Collaborative

Planning Time Depends on leaders to design and implement

complex schedules and limited by contracts

Formative

assessments

Most districts adopting formative assessments.

Budget constraints limit purchase of technology

to enable real-time data

School-based

expert support

Coaching and release time cut with budget

declines; teacher assignment practices result in

schools with inappropriate mix of master and

novice teachers

VARIABLE

VARIABLE

YES

N0


41 49

81

105 116

195

233 244

268 281 283

-

50

100

150

200

250

300

Difference Between Annual Teacher

and Student Hours (MS/HS 2010-2011)

While some districts have significant teacher time without students….

Source: ERS district database, TR3 Database, DCPS teacher contract and school schedules

Ho

urs

per

Year


Source: The New Teacher Project, “The Widget Effect” 2009

Most extra teacher time is “unspecified”, with little structure over how that time is used


What should it look like? Improves individual capacity by providing

differentiated professional growth opportunities linked to needs as

identified through evaluation

Organizational

Improvement

Professional development in the

context of organizational

priorities (ex curriculum adoption)

School-Based

Support

Job-embedded

Opportunities through teaming and collaborative

planning

Individual Growth

Opportunities

Professional development in the

of the individual needs of a teacher,

particularly at career junctures

Tightly linked to evaluations and

career path

Offered by or thru

the District office

Offered by school

with structures facilitated by District

Investment in Professional Growth should be balanced across the district,

school and individual needs, depending on available resources, district

priorities, and teacher capacity


What does it currently look like? Differentiated Professional Growth for Individuals

Organizational

Improvement

•Workshop based with little on-site follow-up

•One size fits all

•Fragmented across departments and purposes

School-Based

Support

•Schools not supported in implementation

•Teacher assignment practices result in schools

that do not have an appropriate mix of

teachers

•Principals don’t have scheduling capacity.

Individual

growth

opportunities

•At the direction of individual teachers with little

connection to district or school priorities or

teacher evaluation results.

• Largest expenditure is compensation lanes.


This district spends $63 million annually in teacher salaries for

educational attainment, $28 million to teachers who have more

than a master’s degree

The largest component of spending on teacher professional

growth is often considered an entitlement rather than an

available resource for improving effectiveness

TOTAL SPENDING ON PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (SY 07-08)

PD Initiatives

$57.9M

Contracted

PD Days

$40.6M

Estimated Salary

Increments for

Coursework

$63.4M

36% 25% 39%

District Z: Total spending on Professional Development (SY07-08)


Districts we have studied spend between 1.6% and 5% of

operating budget on Professional Growth initiatives

1.6%

2.1%

2.8% 3.2%

3.6% 3.9%

4.5%

5.0%

0%

1%

2%

3%

4%

5%

6%

District B District P District H District C District D District E District R District A

% o

f O

pe

ratin

g B

ud

ge

t

09-10 Professional Development Spending as Percent of Operating Expenditures


Due to recent budget constraints, many districts are funding PD primarily from directed federal and state sources

56%

42%

7% 29%

28%

29%

9%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Denver (3.25% of Op. Budget) Duval (3.92% of Op. Budget)

Denver $5,914 per teacher Duval $4,582 per teacher

PD Funding Sources

PRIVATE

LOCAL

STATE

FEDERAL


Principal Dev.

Investment in Professional Growth is often spread across many

initiatives and purposes, resulting in fragmentation

School-based support

49.4 M

Individual

Growth

$9.6 M

District initiatives

$13.7 M

Special

Populations

TDE days

Teacher

Comp for

Lanes

TDE days

Teacher

Leadership

Induction

Contract Professional

Development Time

Coach Compensation

Materials, Vendors, Conferences

Largest investments in time

and expert support,

consistent with

characteristics of quality

professional development

set out in district’s PD plan

Professional

Development

Office

Title I

Schultz Initiatives

Chf. Off. Science

HS Educ.

TDE days Acad Intst.

Source: Duval 09-10 expenditure file, Duval teacher contract

Note: TDE days include substitute and teacher salary costs; total in file split across 3 categories of PD

$10K/teacher spread across many initiatives & purposes, creating risk of fragmentation

Educ. Tech.


• Priorities determined by grants

• Spending controlled by union contractual provisions

• Too many “priorities” resulting from a lack of understanding

of need

• Budgeting practices that award all departments and schools

a pot of money for PD

• Continuing to honor the scared cows

This fragmentation is driven by:







action



It is the joint responsibility of:

What is the state role in promoting teaching effectiveness?

State Commissioner

Dept of Ed

Legislature Administration

School

Board

Union

Higher

Education School

Cadre of Highly Effective Teachers

And these actors do not always have a coordinated approach…


This is generally accomplished by dictating inputs through

laws, regulations, administrative policies, contracts, etc

Federal

State

District

School

Teacher

Legislature

School

Board

Courts

Administration

State Commissioner

Dept of Ed

Union

DOE

And these are just the formal

actors! Implied inputs are imposed

by parents, community,

Other?

Higher

ed

Resulting in instructional

decisions being made further

and further away from the

classroom


The input approach often has the side effect of tying up

scarce district resources that could be redirect to increasing

teaching effectiveness

Mandated new teacher mentor programs

Intended Purpose To ensure that school districts provide sufficient support

for teachers new to the profession in order to reduce

new teacher turnover

Controlling Provisions State Law; State Regulations, Union Contracts,

Administrative provisions

Misaligned Resources Overinvestment in new teacher district mentors,

required external PD and days, administrative costs

and compliance costs

Unintended Results •Underinvestment in school-based job-embedded

supports

•Often supports not integrated into school instructional

model, support fragmented and often not aligned

with new teacher needs


We need to flip the paradigm……

Dictate Inputs Measure Outcomes

The System we have:

The System we want:

Measure Inputs Dictate Outcomes


We are beginning to see this paradigm shift with Teacher evaluations

Measure Inputs Dictate Outcomes

Characteristics of Effective

Teaching

(ex: Rubric based on

Charlotte Danielson)

Student Outcomes

(ex: Value Added

Measures)


Dictating Outcomes too narrowly or outside the context of new

instructional delivery models may result in solidifying structures we

know are not optimal

We need to be careful that the paradigm flip is not 360 degrees

Will tying student outcomes to

individual teachers exclude the

movement to new instructional

delivery models, including teaming,

that move us away from the

traditional one teacher – one

classroom model?


In this paradigm the State plays a number of different roles to influence behavior

Barrier

Breaker

The State removes internal regulations and rules that

constrain district flexibility and/or force investment

misalignments

Capacity

Builder

The State builds the capacity of districts to improve

teaching effectiveness thru PD, tools, access to data,

models of best practice

Service

Broker

The State identifies providers of services that meet high

standards and structures access and networks

Incentivize

Provider

The State establishes structures, including innovation

grants, that encourage certain behaviors or practices

Influencer

The State works with other stakeholders (unions,

legislature) to increase understanding of barriers to

improving teaching effectiveness

Mandate

Maker

The State mandates certain practices, processes or

investments that have a compelling State priority







action
