A new interactive map from Public Policy Institute of California reveals disparities in which ninth-graders will go on to graduate high school and complete A–G requirements.

A June 29 PPIC blog post points out that the share of high school gradates completing A–G courses (which are required to attend CSU and UC) has increased over the years, as more and more districts have adopted A–G courses as part of their curriculum.

However statewide, 43 percent of 9th graders go on to both finish high school and complete A–G requirements. Rates vary widely by district, depending on the region (Bay Area, San Diego, Los Angeles have higher A–G completion rates than the rest of the state) or whether districts are in urban or rural areas (which have 45 percent and 29 percent A–G completion rates, respectively).

Equity gaps persist as well, as Native American (23 percent), Black (31 percent), Pacific Islander (34 percent), and Latino (36 percent) 9th graders are much less likely to go on to graduate with A–G requirements than their Asian (71 percent) and white peers (49 percent).

“In some districts, access to A–G courses may be a concern. Expanding the availability of A–G approved courses is an important step, though PPIC research has found that this may present hiring difficulties or other challenges for schools. In addition, policies related to course placement, scheduling, counseling, and grading could affect — and in some cases diminish — students’ likelihood of enrolling in these courses.”

View the interactive map with the blog, “Geography of College Readiness in California” at www.ppic.org/news-and-events/blog/?topic=k-12-education.

NCTQ: Teacher salaries could be leveraged to attract top talent
A new analysis of teacher pay in 90 large districts across the country (including 12 in California), recommends strategies districts can employ to attract the right teacher to the right position.
“Smart Money 2.0” published in July 2021 by the National Council on Teacher Quality, examined salary data and compensation materials to determine lifetime earnings trajectories for teachers over a 30-year career, how fast teachers earn $75,000 annually (if ever), and where teachers can earn additional pay for demonstrating high-performance and/or for teaching in high-need schools or hard-to-staff subjects.
Among the key findings:
A typical teacher with a bachelor’s degree in the analyzed districts makes an average $57,000/year throughout a 30-year career, but can average as little as $40,000/year, as is the case in Sioux Falls School District (ND), or as much as $80,000/year, as is the case in Chicago Public Schools (IL).
When it comes to extra pay for teachers in high-need schools or hard-to-staff subjects, 48 out of the 90 districts make use of differentiated pay, but still only 12 of those offer their teachers amounts that are high enough to be effective.

About half of the teacher workforce has a master’s degree in spite of research finding that advanced degrees don’t necessarily make for more effective teachers. Fifty-two out of the 90 districts reviewed offer larger average salary growth for teachers with master’s degrees than for teachers with a bachelor’s degree.
Salary schedule information was taken from 2018-19 and adjusted to compensate for wide-ranging cost of living differences throughout the country.
An appendix also compares salary information from within states, hinting that wide fluctuations in starting salary and earning potential can affect hiring in certain areas of states such as California.
“There is much talk of teacher shortages around the nation, and the consensus is that at least some of the shortages are more acute in certain localities and for certain schools or subjects,” writes author Patricia Saenz-Armstrong. “One evident but not often cited explanation is the difference in relative salaries between districts and states, which explains part of why some districts lose much-needed talent to neighboring districts or states.”
Based on the findings, Saenz-Armstrong suggests districts create a competitive “salary path” that grows throughout the teacher’s career, rather than maxing out too soon.
She also recommends using differentiated pay for high-performing teachers and to fill hard-to-staff positions (only 14 of the 90 sample districts utilized this strategy). She also suggests considering teacher salaries relative to other professionals’ salaries, especially jobs from industries in hard-to-staff areas such as math and science.
Read the full analysis at https://www. nctq.org/publications/Smart-Money-2.0.