High-Need Schools and Subjects: Colorado
Teacher Compensation Policy
Analysis of Colorado's policies
Shortage-subject Areas: Colorado does not support differential pay by which a teacher can earn additional compensation by teaching certain subjects.
The state offered a loan forgiveness grant to first-year teachers who taught math, science, special education or linguistically diverse education in a public school. However, that statute was repealed as of July 1, 2019.
High-need Schools: Colorado offers financial incentives to teacher candidates who agree to teach in rural districts. Up to 40 annual stipends of $2,800 are offered to individuals who student teach in these schools/districts. Candidates who do not at rural schools for at least two years upon completion of student teaching must pay back a portion of the stipend.
Recommendations for Colorado
Support differential pay initiatives for effective teachers in shortage-subject areas.
Colorado should encourage districts to link compensation to district needs. Such policies can help districts achieve a more equitable distribution of teachers.
State response to our analysis
Colorado noted other types of support offered to retain teachers in shortage and high-needs areas. The Retaining Teachers Grant Program provides districts with funds that may be used in a variety of ways, including offering differential salaries for teachers in high-needs areas. The Expanding Effective Teacher Residencies Program is designed to promote the long-term success and retention of highly effective teachers and aid in addressing the teacher shortage. The residency grant program is used to provide stipends for candidates with early childhood residencies and those teaching in rural and remote areas, among other activities. Lastly, the Center for Rural Education, which is funded by the state through the department of higher education, provides multiple stipend opportunities, one of which is already noted above. The additional stipends available through the Center include stipends to teachers with alternative licenses and those in their student teaching and/or residency to teach in rural schools, and for pursuing National Board Certification for rural educators.
Updated: March 2021
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Colorado
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Teacher Preparation
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How we graded
8B: High-Need Schools and Subjects
- Shortage-Subject Areas: The state should support differential pay for effective teaching in shortage-subject areas.
- High-Need Schools: The state should support differential pay for effective teaching in high-need schools.
One-half of the total goal score is earned based on the following:
- One-half credit: The state will earn one-half of a point if it explicitly supports differential pay in subject areas where there is a demonstrated educator shortage.
- One-quarter credit: The state will earn one-quarter of a point if it partially supports differential benefits in subject areas where there is a demonstrated educator shortage (e.g., tuition reimbursement).
One-half of the total goal score is earned based on the following:
- One-half credit: The state will earn one-half of a point if it explicitly supports differential pay for teachers in high-need schools.
- One-quarter credit: The state will earn one-quarter of a point if it partially supports differential benefits for teachers in high-need schools (e.g., tuition reimbursement).
Research rationale
States should help address chronic shortages and needs. States should ensure that state-level policies (such as a uniform salary schedule) do not interfere with districts' flexibility in compensating teachers in ways that best meet their individual needs and resources. However, when it comes to addressing chronic shortages, states should do more than simply get out of the way. They should provide direct support for differential pay for effective teaching in shortage subject areas and high-need schools.[1] Attracting effective and qualified teachers to high-need schools or filling vacancies in hard-to-staff subjects are problems that are frequently beyond a district's ability to solve. States that provide direct support for differential pay in these areas are taking an important step in promoting the equitable distribution of quality teachers.[2] Short of providing direct support, states can also use policy levers to indicate to districts that differential pay is not only permissible but necessary.
[1] For research that suggests high performing teachers tend to transfer to schools with a large proportion of other high performing teachers and students, while low performing teachers cluster in bottom quartile schools, see: Feng, L., & Sass, T. R. (2016). Teacher quality and teacher mobility. Education Finance and Policy. Retrieved from http://www.urban.org/uploadedpdf/1001506-teacher-quality-teacher-mobility.pdf; Another study found that the least effective teachers in high-poverty schools were considerably less effective than the least effective teachers in low-poverty schools. See: Sass, T. R., Hannaway, J., Xu, Z., Figlio, D. N., & Feng, L. (2012). Value added of teachers in high-poverty schools and lower poverty schools. Journal of Urban Economics, 72(2), 104-122. Retrieved from http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/1001469-calder-working-paper-52.pdf
[2] Clotfelter, C., Glennie, E., Ladd, H., & Vigdor, J. (2008). Would higher salaries keep teachers in high-poverty schools? Evidence from a policy intervention in North Carolina. Journal of Public Economics, 92(5), 1352-1370. Retrieved from
Would Higher Salaries Keep Teachers in High-Poverty Schools? Evidence from a Policy Intervention in North Carolina; Kowal, J., Hassel, B. C., & Hassel, E. A. (2008). Financial incentives for hard-to-staff positions. Center for American Progress. Retrieved from https://www.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/issues/2008/11/pdf/hard_to_staff.pdf; A study by researchers at RAND found that higher pay lowered attrition, and the effect was stronger in high-needs school districts. Every $1,000 increase was estimated to decrease attrition by more than 6 percent. See: Kirby, S. N., Berends, M., & Naftel, S. (1999). Supply and demand of minority teachers in Texas: Problems and prospects. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 21(1), 47-66.