Closing The Gap in California

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Closing The Gap in California
EdVoice Symposium March 21, 2005 Russlynn Ali,
Director The Education Trust West
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In California, Black and Latino 4th Graders Read
Below White Second Graders
White
Black
Latino
Source EdTrust West Analysis of California
Department of Education, 2004
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In California, Latino and Black 8th Graders Read
At the Level of White 4th Graders
White
Black
Latino
Source EdTrust West Analysis of California
Department of Education, 2004
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In California, Latino and Black 11th Graders Read
Below White 7th Graders
Source EdTrust West Analysis of California
Department of Education, 2004
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4th Grade Reading 2004California Standards
Test, by Family Income
Source California Department of Education, 2004.
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8th Grade Reading 2004California Standards
Test, by Family Income
Source California Department of Education, 2004.
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Teachers Matter Most.

• But poor and minority students dont get their
  fair share of our strongest teachers.

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Low-achievers become high achievers with
effective teachersPass rates of previous
low-achieving students according to the
effectiveness of their teachersMATHEMATICS
percent passing
Source Babu Mendro, Teacher Accountability
HLM-Based Teacher Effectiveness Indices in the
Investigation of Teacher Effects on Student
Achievement in a State Assessment Program, Dallas
TX public schools, AERA, 2003
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Students in Californias Highest Minority Schools
Five Times More Likely To Have An Underqualified
Teacher
Source Esch, C. E., Chang-Ross, C. M., Guha, R.,
Tiffany-Morales, J., Shields, P.M. (2004).
Californias teaching force 2004 Key issues and
trends. Santa Cruz, CA The Center forthe Future
of Teaching and Learning, p. 35.
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Californias Poorest Students Are More Than Twice
As Likely To Have An Underqualified Teacher
Source Esch, C. E., Chang-Ross, C. M., Guha, R.,
Tiffany-Morales, J., Shields, P.M. (2004).
Californias teaching force 2004 Key issues and
trends. Santa Cruz, CA The Center forthe Future
of Teaching and Learning, p. 35.
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Reframing the Conversation.Making it about
Money.
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The real surprise in this weeks pioneering
EdTrust-West study of teacher salaries in
California schools isnt that there are gaps in
experience and pay between schools serving
affluent whites and Asians and those with high
percentages of poor and minority students.  The
stunner is how large the average gap is,
especially between schools with high percentages
of black and Latino students and those that are
predominantly non-Hispanic white.
The EdTrust-West findings reinforce the case for
differential pay and conditions to attract and
keep better teachers in needy schools. That
doesnt mean merit pay, as the governor seems to
want, but it does mean creating incentives for
good teachers in high-minority/high-poverty
schools  smaller classes, maybe better
materials more counselors reaching specialists
and other resources. 
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EDITORIALS Talking about the hard stuff.
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The Blind Spot in K-12 FundingMuch has been
made about spending between districts. But
little is known about gaps between schools within
the same district. Until now.
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Where do the lions share of education monies go?

• 80-85 of any individuals schools budget is
  typically spent on teacher salaries.
• Yet, when districts and the state report school
  budgets, teacher salaries are averaged across the
  entire district and that average gets reported.
• aka Salary Cost Averaging. A common yet
  deceptive practice.

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Districts report only district averages for
teacher salaries, even on school levelSchool
Accountability Report Cards
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Between schools in the same district we found
huge gaps in spending on the thing that matters
most TEACHERS. This is happening everywhere in
California.
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• In 42 of the 50 largest school districts in
  California, the schools serving the most
  low-income students spend, on average, an
  estimated 2,576 less per teacher.

Average School 2,576 x 34 teachers 87,584
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• Its worse for high-minority schools.
• In 42 of the 50 largest school districts in
  California, the schools serving the most African
  American and Latino students spend, on average,
  an estimated 3,014 less per teacher.

Average School 3,014 x 34 teachers 102,476
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• Example Two schools in Fresno Unified School
  District.
• McLane High School
• 71 of students receive free or reduced price
  lunch
• 59 of students are Latino or African American
• Bullard High School
• 18 of students receive free or reduced price
  lunch
• 35 of students are Latino or African American

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Estimated Average Teacher Salaries in McLane and
Bullard High Schools
4,039 difference in average teacher salaries

• McLane High School
• High Poverty and Minority School.

• Bullard High School
• Low Poverty and Minority school.

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A Tale of Two Schools

• Jackson Elementary School
• San Diego City Unified
• 79 Latino African American
• 75 of students receive free or reduced price
  lunch
• Academic Performance Index 648

• Marvin Elementary School
• San Diego City Unified
• 55 White
• 32 of students receive free or reduced price
  lunch
• Academic Performance Index 808

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• Looking at these two schools, some might
  automatically think
• Student demographics lower student performance

But this assumption ignores the underlying
factors.
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• The average teacher at Jackson Elementary gets
  paid an estimated 6,806 less every year than his
  counterpart at Marvin Elementary.
• If Jackson spent as much on Marvin on teacher
  salaries for its 66 teachers, the school budget
  would increase by 450,000 every year.

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Digging Deeper. The Impact Average School Gaps
in 10 Largest CA Districts by School Type
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The impact on students?Enormous
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Consider a Latino student in a high school where
the estimated average teacher salary is 4,119
less than a high school serving the fewest
numbers of Latino and African American students
If this student has six teachers a day, he is
taught by teachers paid a combined 24,714 less
per year than his counterparts.
Note For the ten largest districts in
California, the estimated average teacher salary
in high schools serving the most Latino and
African American students is 4,119 less than in
a high school serving the fewest Latino and
African American students.
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Over the course of a four-year high school
career, 98,856 less is spent on his teachers as
compared to the teachers teaching in the schools
serving the fewest Latino and African American
students.
Freshman year 24,714 less
Sophmore year 24,714 less
Junior year 24,714 less
Senior year 24,714 less



Total 98,856 less spent on the Latino
students teachers
Note For the ten largest districts in
California, the estimated average teacher salary
in high schools serving the most Latino and
African American students is 4,119 less than in
a high school serving the fewest Latino and
African American students.
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Over the course of this Latino or African
American students K-12 journey, California will
have spent a total of 172,626 less on all his
teachers.
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How does this happen?
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Teachers migrate to schools that are attractive
to them
Which means more affluent and whiter schools have
their pick of the most experienced, most highly
credentialed teachers
and they bring their higher salaries with them.
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Add to that district policies. . .

• A school is told it can hire 40 teachers, not
  that it has 2 million dollars for teacher
  salaries.
• So affluent and White schools can hire and
  retain a disproportionate share of the highest
  paid teachers in the district and they dont even
  need to prioritize this expense because teacher
  salaries are charged against a district-wide
  account rather than against school specific
  budgets.

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Is it all about Seniority?No matter how good
teachers will eventually become, when
inexperienced teachers are clustered in schools
serving poor and minority youth the students pay
a significant learning price.
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What if we had the courage to change the
patterns of teacher distribution?

• having a high quality teacher throughout
  elementary school can substantially offset or
  even eliminate the disadvantage of low
  socio-economic background. - John Kain, Eric
  Hanushek, and Steven Rivkin

Source Steven G. Rivkin, Eric A. Hanushek, and
John F. Kain, Teachers, Schools and Academic
Achievement, University of Texas-Dallas Schools
Project, 2002.
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What can we do?
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STEP 1 The Need To Know. Lift the veil on
school level expenditures

• In this era of transparency, we ought to
  transparent. Salary cost averaging is deceptive.
  Period.
• SB 687. A Necessary First Step.

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Then analyze the factors that contribute to the
teacher spending gap.

• We need much more information about what factors
  contribute to and perpetuate the inequities
  between high- and low-poverty and high- and
  low-minority schools. Is it the single salary
  schedule? Collective Bargaining? Other budget
  and personnel practices?

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We Know What It Takes To Close The Gap.
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Ready for Work Ready for College Even in Jobs
We Dont Expect

• Requirements for Tool and Die Makers
• Four or five years of apprenticeship and/or
  postsecondary training
• Algebra, geometry, trigonometry and statistics
• Average earnings 40,000 per year.

• Requirements for
• Auto Technicians
• A solid grounding
• in physics is
• necessary to
• understand force,
• hydraulics, friction
• and electrical
• circuits.

• Requirements for
• Sheet Metal Workers
• Four or five years
• of apprenticeship
• Algebra, geometry,
• trigonometry and
• technical reading

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Benchmark Courses for Career Success

• Algebra II for highly paid professional jobs or
  well-paid white collar jobs.
• Geometry for well-paid blue-collar jobs and
  low-paid/low-skilled jobs
• 4 Years of English that is at least at grade
  level for the vast majority of jobs.

Source Carnevale and Desrochers
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Yet We Dont Prepare Most. Its Worse For Latino
and African American Students.9th graders who
graduate with A-G mastery, class of 2003
Note A-G mastery indicates that students have
completed the full A-G course sequence with a C
or better in each class. Source Education
Trust-West analysis of CDE data, using the
Manhattan Institute methodology
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Disadvantaged districts are only ¼ as likely to
have enough A-G classes for all students.
AB 1253. Dont Raise Graduation Requirements
(yet), But at Least Guarantee Access
Note Disadvantaged means schools at the lower
end of CAs School Characteristics Index (SCI),
which takes into account demographic factors
including poverty level and English language
proficiency. Source Education Trust-West
analysis of CDE data
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STANDARDS ARE KEY. SO ARE TEXTBOOKS. Language
Arts Curriculum Calibration Analysis
SCA 4. Scary.
Source DataWorks Education Research, 2002.
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Grade 7 Writing Assignment Largely White and
Non-Poor School
Essay on Anne Frank Your essay will consist of
an opening paragraph which introduced the title,
author and general background of the novel.
Your thesis will state specifically what Anne's
overall personality is, and what general
psychological and intellectual changes she
exhibits over the course of the book You might
organize your essay by grouping psychological and
intellectual changes OR you might choose 3 or 4
characteristics (like friendliness, patience,
optimism, self doubt) and show how she changes in
this area.
Source Unnamed school district in California,
2002-03 school year.
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Grade 7 Writing Assignment Mostly Latino and
Poor Classroom (not ELL)

• My Best Friend
• A chore I hate
• A car I want
• My heartthrob

Source Unnamed school district in California,
2002-03 school year.
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All Means All. But Not Necessarily in the Same
Way and Not in the Same Time.
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The Full Year Calendar
USE OF INSTRUCTIONAL TIME Analysis of One
California Urban Middle School Calendar
Source Ed Trust West analysis of the master
schedule of an unnamed school in CA
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Less Summer Vacation
Source Ed Trust West analysis of the master
schedule of an unnamed school in CA
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Less Weekends, Holidays, Summer Vacation
Source Ed Trust West analysis of the master
schedule of an unnamed school in CA
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Less Professional Development Days Early
Dismissal/Parent Conferences
Source Ed Trust West analysis of the master
schedule of an unnamed school in CA
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Less Class Picnic, Class Trip, Thanksgiving
Feast, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hannukkah, Awards,
Assembles, Concerts
Source Ed Trust West analysis of the master
schedule of an unnamed school in CA
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Less State and District Testing and Other
Non-Instructional Time
Source Ed Trust West analysis of the master
schedule of an unnamed school in CA
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Use of Instructional Time?

• BOTTOM LINE?
• Teachers are Left with about
• 24 School Days
• OR
• 18 Eight Hour Days Per Subject Per Year

OUR STUDENTS NEED MORE TIME. TAKE IT BACK.
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We Know What It Takes To Close The Gap. The
Real Question Is Whether We Have The Will.
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The Education Trust-West
510-465-6444 www.EdTrustWest.org
Special thanks to the Broad Foundation, the
Bill Melinda Gates Foundation and the James
Irvine Foundation for the production and release
of our California Hidden Spending Gap report.