What Can the SEA Data Tell Us?
Using the SEA data collected from Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas, we at SEDL are currently conducting a study to investigate teacher resources and student achievement. Teacher resources includes teacher salary, level of education, and years of experience. We are particularly interested in looking closely at these teacher resources in high-need schools, i.e., schools in rural or urban areas and schools with high student minority and poverty enrollments.
The goals for this study are as follows:
- To learn about the extent to which districts pay teachers based on years of experience and degree level
- To determine whether teacher resources are distributed differently across schools depending upon their levels of need
- To see if funds expended on teacher resources are connected to student achievement
Our study includes 191,813 core teachers and 6,618 public elementary and middle schools. We are using a variety of analysis tools and the array of data collected to achieve these goals.
In our final study report, we will discuss the states’ use of a single salary schedule based on teacher education and experience and patterns of teacher resource allocations in schools. Our focus will be on helping policymakers in the three states better understand the relationships between teacher salaries, teacher experience, teacher education, and student achievement.
For more information about this study, contact SEDL policy staff at 1-800-476-6861.
Additional information about SEDL’s policy work can be found on our Web site at http://www.sedl.org/pubs/policyresearch/
Next Page: At A Glance
