18 award-winning teaches have created a report on how to fix U.S. schools. The first step is a whole new pay structure for teachers. Currently, teachers are paid according to their seniority, or how long they’ve been in the school system. Seniority also generally determines which teacher will be awarded a job when positions open up. Pay scales up depending on seniority, and usually stops somewhere between 10-15 years of work.

The report suggests recreating a more natural career ladder based on three tiers: novice, professional and expert. They also propose that a teacher who takes on extra responsibilities should be paid for their time. For example, a novice could start at $30,000, moving up to $70,000 for an expert, and as much as $130,000 for an expert with additional roles in the school.

Meanwhile, just how to one should judge what tier a teacher would be placed under is up for debate. The report advised pay based on classroom results, however it acknowledges the flaws in such a system.

While I generally agree with the idea of a career ladder, I do not think performance should be based on classroom performance. All that will create is even more standardised testing, and teaching to the test. What I would suggest is a mixture between classroom performance, seniority, and a teacher rating system completed by all students.  Also, I do not know where they will get the money to literally double the pay of all the numerous teachers who help the school beyond what the job calls for. But an interesting report nontheless.

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