A 2011 Florida pay-for-performance law demands that the most effective teachers earn the biggest salary awards each year. But many districts pay out more money for teachers who earn an advanced degree than they do for those earning top performance ratings, finds a report published by the National Council on Teacher Quality, a Washington-based research and advocacy group.
In 16 of the 18 districts studied, the route to higher pay is still via higher education. A master’s degree merits teachers a salary bump four times greater on average than a “highly effective” rating, according to the report.
In the Brevard County public schools in the 2016-17 school year, for instance, a teacher who scored a highly effective rating received an additional $445 after cost-of-living adjustments. But a teacher with a master’s degree earned a salary bump of more than six times that, an extra $2,868.
