The Effect of Teacher Wage Premium Elimination on Enrollment and Degree Completion in Graduate Education Programs

• In Event: Moscone Center West Roundtable Session 7
  In Roundtable Session: Salary Schedule Shuffling: Drivers and Impacts of Teacher Pay Reforms

Abstract

Despite little evidence that teacher graduate education improves student outcomes, most districts across the nation pay wage premiums to educators with advanced credentials. In 2010, federal Race to the Top grants exceeding $530M to Tennessee ushered in, among other reforms, new teachers’ salary schedules—including the elimination of a premium for graduate degrees. We estimate the effect of this change on graduate education enrollment and degree production across the state’s public universities. In the difference-in-differences framework, we find robust evidence to suggest large annual reductions in enrollment of nearly 780 students (61.9 percent) and 200 degrees (52.2 percent), on average. We discuss these effects in relation to the pipeline of teacher preparation programs and implications for institutional finance.

Authors

• Taylor K. Odle, University of Pennsylvania

• Adam K. Edgerton, Learning Policy Institute