Differential Pay: Maryland
Retaining Effective Teachers Policy
Analysis of Maryland's policies
Maryland does not support
differential pay by which a teacher can earn additional compensation by
teaching certain subjects. However, the state does offer a program of tuition
reimbursement for retraining in the areas of mathematics and science if the
teacher agrees to teach in the public school system for at least two years
following certification. Also, the state has adopted an Alternative Teaching
Program, where candidates enrolled in an alternative teacher preparation
program can earn a per diem stipend by agreeing to teach mathematics or science
or special education in a state public school for at least three years.
Maryland does support differential pay for those teaching in high-need schools. The state offers an annual $2,000 stipend for teachers who are National Board Certified and working in schools
designated as "challenged, reconstitution-eligible, or
reconstituted." A stipend of up to $1,000 is
available for National Board Certified teachers working in a school without
comprehensive needs.
Recommendations for Maryland
Expand differential pay initiative for teachers in subject-shortage areas.
Although the state's tuition reimbursement program is a desirable recruitment and retention tool for teachers early in their careers, Maryland should expand its program to include those who are already part of the teaching pool. A salary differential is an attractive incentive for every teacher.
State response to our analysis
Maryland recognized the factual accuracy of this analysis.
The state added that one of Maryland's Race to the Top projects was the development of guidance for school systems in terms of teacher performance compensation. The committee was composed of LEA representation, teachers, principals and union leadership.
At this point, because of the economic context, districts have not been able to implement this guidance, as no additional funding has been available.
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Maryland
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Delivering Well Prepared Teachers
- Admission into Teacher Preparation
- Elementary Teacher Preparation
- Elementary Teacher Preparation in Reading Instruction
- Elementary Teacher Preparation in Mathematics
- Middle School Teacher Preparation
- Secondary Teacher Preparation
- Secondary Teacher Preparation in Science
- Special Education Teacher Preparation
- Assessing Professional Knowledge
- Student Teaching
- Teacher Preparation Program Accountability
Expanding the Pool of Teachers
Identifying Effective Teachers
- State Data Systems
- Evaluation of Effectiveness
- Frequency of Evaluations
- Tenure
- Licensure Advancement
- Equitable Distribution
Retaining Effective Teachers
Exiting Ineffective Teachers
Pensions
Research rationale
States should help address chronic shortages and needs.
As discussed in Goal 4-C, 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. 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. Short of providing direct support, states can also use policy levers to indicate to districts that differential pay is not only permissible but necessary.
Differential Pay: Supporting Research
Two recent studies emphasize the need for differential pay. In "Teacher Quality and Teacher Mobility", L. Feng and T. Sass find that 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. Calder Institute, Working Paper 57, January 2011. Another study from T. Sass, et al., found that the least effective teachers in high-poverty schools were considerably less effective than the least effective teachers in low-poverty schools http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/1001469-calder-working-paper-52.pdf..
C. Clotfelter, E. Glennie, H. Ladd, and J. Vigdor, "Would Higher Salaries Keep Teachers in High-Poverty Schools? Evidence from a Policy Intervention in North Carolina," NBER Working Paper 12285, June 2006.
J. Kowal, B. Hassel, and E. Hassel, "Financial Incentives for Hard-To-Staff Positions: Cross-Sector Lessons for Public Education," Center for American Progress, November 2008.
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 S. Kirby, M. Berends, and S. Naftel, "Supply and Demand of Minority Teachers in Texas: Problems and Prospects," Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, Volume 21, No. 1, March 20, 1999, pp. 47-66 at: http://epa.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/21/1/47.