No Pay Raises for Teachers with Masters

Good to see:

The nation spends an estimated $15 billion annually on salary bumps for teachers who earn master's degrees, even though research shows the diplomas don't necessarily lead to higher student achievement.

And as states and districts begin tying teachers' pay and job security to student test scores, some are altering—or scrapping—the time-honored wage boost.

…Colleges of education have been under assault recently by critics who say they have lax standards and weak curricula. Many, including the Obama administration's Mr. Duncan, have called for drastic overhauls.

Sharon Robinson, president of the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education, said master's programs can help teachers become more effective in the classroom and boost their "intellectual development," but noted some are not getting the job done. "The public should not pay for credentials that are unrelated to educators' work because doing so would inflate operating costs for schools with no obvious benefit to students," she said.

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