We’ve talked about the committee exploring the teacher shortage issue before and the state is conducting townhalls and receiving feedback. We’ve also talked about the disaster that is SB191, rating the effectiveness of teachers based on the weaponizing of standardized assessments, which EVERY true education policy expert working in the industry as well as the assessment industry warns as a practice NOT to use data for! But Colorado legislators did it anyway.
Well, what if someone else had already done some research on the teacher shortage and it was available widely? Like this information –
https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/understanding-teacher-shortages-interactive
Colorado’s Teacher Attractiveness Rating is a 2 out of 5
- Compensation is a 1.5 with the average starting salary being $32,126, below the US Average of $36,141.
- Working conditions is a 2.2, since we don’t fund facilities anymore and some of our buildings are falling down around the staff and students. Of course, since voters approved TABOR, schools are dependent upon mill levies and bonds for funding, which voters may or may not approve.
It would be so amazing if that information was also available in a download, like this – LPI_Teaching_Supply_Report-co
Yes, we’re being a bit sarcastic. The research is already available and just asking educators is another easy way for our legislators to figure things out without creating a study and committee.
Great Education Colorado has been putting this information out for years – https://www.greateducation.org/statistics-faqs/statistics/
COLORADO RANKS:
- 50th in teacher wage competitiveness—compares teachers to non-teachers with similar education, experience and hours worked (Education Law Center, Great Ed national comparison chart)
- 49th in number of novice teachers in the classroom (Education Week, October 2016)
- 47th in per pupil spending change between 2002-03 and 2012-13 (National Center for Education Statistics)
- 44th in math gap (Ed Week, 2016 Quality Counts, 2013 4th grade NAEP scale score)
- 42nd in per-pupil spending adjusted for regional cost differences (Ed Week, 2016 Quality Counts, 2013 data)
- 42nd in poverty gap (Ed Week, 2016 Quality Counts, 2013 data)
- 41st in pupil-teacher ratio (National Center for Education Statistics, 2014-15)
- 40th in per pupil spending (National Center for Education Statistics, 2012-13 data, Colorado vs National Per Pupil Spending)
- 39th in reading gap (Ed Week, 2016 Quality Counts, 2013 4th grade NAEP scale score)
- 39th in spending on education adjusted for regional cost differences (Ed Week, 2016 Quality Counts, 2013 data)
- 39th out of the 44 states that provide state support for preschool/ECE. (National Institute for Early Education Research)
Note: The above stats are based on most current information available. Data are lagging indicators due to auditing.
Only Florida reports a higher proportion of novice teachers in the classroom (Education Week, October 2016).
THE GREAT EDUCATION COLORADO INDEX:
- $2,685 Amount below the national average that Colorado spends per pupil (adjusted for regional cost differences) [Ed Week, 2017 Quality Counts]
- $4,511 Amount Colorado spends per pupil below Nebraska (adjusted for regional cost differences) [Ed Week, 2017 Quality Counts]
- $8,019 Amount Colorado spends per pupil below Wyoming (adjusted for regional cost differences) [Ed Week, 2017 Quality Counts]
- $2,157 Amount Colorado spends per pupil below Kansas (adjusted for regional cost differences) [Ed Week, 2017 Quality Counts]
- $1,243 Amount Colorado spends per pupil below New Mexico (adjusted for regional cost differences) [Ed Week, 2017 Quality Counts]
STATS ON SCHOOL DISTRICTS WITH 4-DAY SCHOOL WEEK:
- 49% of Colorado districts (88 out of 178 school districts) are on or have some schools on 4-day school weeks.
- 50% growth in 4-day school weeks since 2005-06.
- The number of schools on 4-day school weeks has more than doubled since 2000.
Source: The Four-Day School Week Manual, Colorado Department of Education, August 2016
THE GRAPH THAT SAYS IT ALL (CLICK HERE)
Now, take the time to share the information. Share on Facebook, share on Twitter, share on Instagram, print copies and hand them out, email your friends, copy and paste on your own website, and email to your legislators…any other ideas?
