Teacher Compensation Policy
Shortage-subject Areas: Utah teachers of subjects deemed as critical shortage areas by the state—secondary math, integrated science (grades 7 and 8), chemistry, physics or computer science—are eligible for an annual salary supplement of $4,100.
High-need Schools: Utah's Effective Teachers in High Poverty Schools Incentive Programs offers annual salary bonuses of $5,000 to teachers who are employed in a high-poverty school and achieve a median growth percentile of 70 or higher. A high-poverty school is defined as one with more than 20 percent of students affected by intergenerational poverty or 70 percent or more qualifying for free or reduced lunch.
In addition, Utah's National Board Certified teachers are eligible to receive a $750 bonus; those teaching at a Title I school are eligible for an additional $750 bonus, totaling $1,500.
As a result of Utah's strong high-need schools and subjects policies, no recommendations are provided.
Utah was helpful in providing NCTQ with facts that enhanced this analysis.
8B: High-Need Schools and Subjects
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.