The California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) is in the midst of phasing in substantial increases in the contributions made by teachers, school districts, and the state of California. The phase-in period began in 2014-15. In the year prior, 2013-14, the total statutory contribution rate to CalSTRS from all parties was 18.3 percent of…

Nobody goes into teaching to get rich, but that's no excuse not to pay teachers as professionals. Compensation is one of the most important factors in determining who enters the teaching profession and how long they stay--yet 90 percent of all U.S. school districts pay teachers without any regard for their actual performance with students,…

Governors and other state leaders have shown an increasing interest in creating new models of teacher compensation that would reward educators based on their contributions to student learning. To support this interest, the National Governors Association (NGA) hosted a policy academy focusing on that issue. The policy academy provided teams with…

Created by the U.S. Congress in 2006, the Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) represents the first federal initiative targeted directly at state and district efforts to introduce performance measures into educator compensation. TIF responds to a growing body of evidence that existing pay structures do not respond to labor force realities or adequately…

Findings from an evaluation of a workplace literacy program funded by the State of Indiana are presented. Working with employers, providers were given considerable latitude to design their own training regimens. The state awarded certificates to workers who achieved certain levels of proficiency in reading, math, critical thinking, problem solving…

Do teachers' salaries reflect their ability to teach effectively? This is an important question given that teacher salaries account for approximately 37 percent of total education expenditures across the United States. Furthermore, the objectives of the "No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)" for increased student achievement and the presence…

For five years running, the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) has tracked states' teacher policies, preparing a detailed and thorough compendium of teacher policy in the United States on topics related to teacher preparation, licensure, evaluation, career advancement, tenure, compensation, pensions and dismissal. The 2011 State Teacher…

When 34 Indiana school-board presidents were surveyed regarding their districts' superintendent hiring processes, most were not impressed with candidate quality. Applicants' top weaknesses included insufficient administrative experience, limited communication skills, and inadequate knowledge of school finance. Internal candidates are scarce, and…

This Indiana's edition of the National Council on Teacher Quality's (NCTQ's) 2009 "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" is the third annual look at state policies impacting the teaching profession. It is hoped that this report will help focus attention on areas where state policymakers can make changes that will have a positive impact on…

Extensive testing data from federal, state, and private sources indicate that Indiana students underperform their peers in most other states. Contrary to conventional wisdom, the shortcomings of Indiana students relative to students elsewhere are most severe among students from middle- and upper-income families. Forty percent of 3rd-graders, 52…

This report compares various factors associated with educational reform to student outcomes in Calumet Region (Lake and Porter Counties) in northwest Indiana. Specifically, this study examines the influence of these factors on students' educational success as measured by an index of excellence: a composite measure that includes attendance rates;…