The 2018 PDK Poll of the Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools finds that Americans trust and support teachers, but they draw the line at wanting their own children to join a profession they see as undervalued and low-paid. An overwhelming 78% of public school parents say they would support teachers in their community if they went on strike…

This article draws on research from outside of education to evaluate some common myths about performance pay and to consider future directions for designing and evaluating performance pay systems in K-12 education. The five common myths surrounding performance pay include: (1) Performance pay systems improve performance; (2) Performance pay…

This is the latest in a series of polls sponsored by Phi Delta Kappa International with the Gallup organization. Some important findings of this year's poll include: About half of us believe teacher unions are hurting public education, but we're more likely to support teacher union leaders than governors in disputes over teacher collective…

Nations around the world are experimenting with ways to use salary incentives to recruit and retain teachers, fill vacancies in hard-to-staff areas, and improve student learning. These experiments come at a time when qualified teachers are in short supply and when teaching appears to be a less popular professional choice for young people. Programs…

Leading-edge states, districts, and unions are beginning to implement knowledge- and skills-based pay systems for teachers. PRAXIS and other performance assessment tools are described, along with sample assessment and salary schedule combinations. Effective principal leadership and yearly bonuses between $1,500 and $3,000 ensure sufficient…

Key school reform dimensions require new forms of labor/management collaboration exemplified by Teacher Union Reform Network (TURN) affiliates. TURN promotes new union models to build and sustain high-achieving schools through improving instructional quality. Three subcommittees tackle professional development, preservice education issues, and…

A Hudson Institute study claims school administration is top-heavy. Actually, U.S. teachers constitute 78% of the instructional staff, which includes principals, assistant principals, librarians, and counselors. A 1998 OECD report shows that some nations have surpassed the U.S. graduation rate. The U.S. spends the most on higher education. (MLH)

Michael Kirst's article "Strengths and Weaknesses of American Education" in the April 1993 "Kappan" applauds U.S. efforts to become globally competitive. However, assembling cars in Mexico or exporting jobs to Korea blurs the distinction between national/corporate "teams." The issue is not talent but cheap talent.…

Despite unfavorable publicity concerning public education's performance, 42 percent of Gallup Poll respondents give the schools in their community an A or B, and 33 percent assign them a C. Only 5 percent feel that schools are failing. Parents of public school students rate the schools even higher. Half of those surveyed would pay higher taxes to…

Past payment by results schemes have failed miserably. Britain's modified 150-year-old system was disdained by teachers, school managers, and inspectors; schools became learning-impoverished environments with test-driven curricula. In modern-day America, accountability concerns and mistrust are corrupting or crippling genuine improvement efforts.…

Teachers and the public agree on reasons for choosing a public school, but differ sharply concerning "B" ratings, school safety concerns, parental involvement, and pay-for-performance proposals. More teachers favor academics as schools' main emphasis and class-size reduction as the best use of federal funds. (MLH)

Analyzes six myths about education and explores their justifications. The underlying assumptions are unsupported by educational research. A bibliography containing 71 citations is appended. (MD)

With annual salaries for Head Start and other nonpublic school child care programs in the $11,000 to $15,000 range, it is impossible to recruit and retain qualified teachers. This article discusses the rationale for improving and appropriately financing all early care and education programs. Includes nine references. (MLH)

Public support for better teacher salaries hinges on tying these salaries to performance and productivity. To succeed, alternative compensation plans must be free of legislative involvement and restrictive outside funding and feature teacher cooperation in planning; clear, attainable objectives; freedom to determine reward format; and sound and…

Many America 2000 proposals should be challenged by educators, in view of powerful and readily available evidence sources, including the Sandia Report suppressed by the Bush Administration. Findings showed that aggregate SAT, NAEP, and GRE scores are rising; dropout rates are declining (except for Hispanics); and beginning teachers' salaries (in…