Become Better Teachers

A recent report on comparative educational systems suggests that for the United States to improve the quality of its public schools, it needs to raise the status of teachers. This means recruiting candidates that are more qualified and paying them more. It also means them extensive training.

Education in the United States is lagging behind other well-developed countries. Based on an international achievement test (Pisa) headed by Andreas Schleicher, American teenagers only scored 15th in reading, 19th in science and 27th in math. These poor student performances have drawn attention to the inferior quality of teachers. Schleicher believes the country should address this now.

Other countries such as Korea, Singapore and Finland, which scored among the highest in the test, credit their students’ performance to the overall quality of their teachers. These countries only hire top college graduates for teaching positions. They also give them proper mentoring and other help in the classroom. These countries also take extra steps to attribute the teaching profession with respect and prestige.

“Teaching in the U.S. is unfortunately no longer a high-status occupation,” Schleicher says. “Despite the characterization of some that teaching is an easy job, with short hours and summers off, the fact is that successful, dedicated teachers in the U.S. work long hours for little pay and, in many cases, insufficient support from their leadership.”

Following the results of the latest Pisa, Schleicher wrote a new report titled “What the U.S. Can Learn from the World’s Most Successful Education Reform Efforts.” In the report, he enumerated the improvements education reformists should concentrate on: adopting common academic standards, developing better tests in diagnosing students, training more effective school leaders and, most importantly, making a concerted effort to raise the status of the teaching profession.

It seems that Schleicher is not alone in stressing the latter. President Obama has also been quoted in saying, “In South Korea, teachers are known as ‘nation builders,’ and I think it’s time we treated our teachers with the same level of respect.”

Schleicher believes that, initially, universities in the United States should become more selective and rigorous in admitting those who want a degree in education.

Salary is also something that needs improvement. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (O.E.C.D.), the average veteran public school teacher in the U.S. earned only $44,172 in 2008. This is 40% below the average salary of other American college graduates. In contrast, Finland’s average salary for educators is 13% below the average for other college graduates.

Apparently, budgeting is not a problem. Rather, the problem lies in the allocation of funds, which means that raising the average teacher’s salary should not be too difficult. The U.S. spends a considerable amount of money on public education. It’s only second to Luxembourg, according to the O.E.C.D. “You can spend a lot of money on education, but if you don’t spend it wisely, on improving the quality of instruction, you won’t get higher student outcomes,” Schleicher said.