Should we pay teachers more?

This is an age-old argument in education reform.

Should teachers make more money? Will paying teachers more improve student achievement? Will it increase retention? Will it make teachers happier and thus more likely to perform at a consistently high level.

Many people now say we don't need more money to improve education. And these same people argue that paying teachers more will not improve outcomes.

Here's what I find interesting. Many of these very same people argue that we can't have so-called "government-run" healthcare because it will limit the salaries doctors can make. They say that the best and brightest are attracted to medicine because it is challenging, impacts people's lives, and is financially rewarding.

I tend to think this argument makes some sense. Smart, talented people want a job that is challenging, that maximizes their talents, that has a big impact, and that rewards them for their effort.

So, why do we continue to pay teachers so little? If we believe that the smartest, most talented people will gravitate toward careers that provide significant financial rewards (law, medicine, engineering, business), what statement are we making by paying teachers low salaries?

Conversely, if we want more bright math minds in our schools, more talented writers teaching our children to write, shouldn't we provide them with an opportunity that is challenging, has a big impact, and is rewarding financially?

Teaching is definitely challenging. And it definitely can have a big impact. But when given an array of choices among jobs that meet those two criteria, how likely are the best and brightest to choose the least financially rewarding?

I'm not suggesting we make teachers the highest paid professionals in America (though they do have stewardship of our children for a long period of time). I am suggesting that if we truly want to improve outcomes and attract the best to the profession, we should expect to pay for it.

Starting salaries in the mid-40s to 50s and increases based on performance measures to get the best teachers above $100,000 a year. Good teachers could make $75,000 or more.

Even at the level I'm describing, we're not making teaching the most financially rewarding field. In fact, it may still be on the lower end of the scale. But it certainly makes teaching competitive with other professions that attract the best students our colleges have to offer.