North Carolina ends increased pay for teachers holding master degrees

[IrishJohn]

Interesting how Virginia has arguably the best education system in the country at all levels but they have a relatively low "Master's bump" and low-ish rate of teachers with a Master's degree. I know VA education is partly skewed because of the super-rich counties in NoVA but it seems to support the idea that the Master's degrees most teachers get are largely ineffectual and a waste of public money.

Um...the state of Virginia's schools is a whole 'nother post. I live in Virginia and have seen the situation in at least 2 counties, and it's not all roses. There is a tendency because of laws like NCLB to simply "teach the test" which skews results and frankly serves kids poorly. As for masters degrees, every county in this state offers a bump in pay for having one. Where I might agree is that these degrees should be more focused on the material being taught than in say administration.

[instant000]

Since I do not subscribe to WSJ, I cannot read the full story. Thanks Careerpoint! Career Point - YouTube (To those not in the know, Career Point is a career training school, and it is a running joke that is parodied to no end. It's to the point at work that whenever something goes wrong, we just say "Thanks Careerpoint!" ... I don't know the term for it, but we've twisted the usage in such a way that it went from the original meaning: "something to credit for things getting better" to "something to blame if things don't turn out the way you would prefer them to".)

OK, back on topic:

I can tell you from my limited experience of growing up in the United States, that I concur with the posters who relate student success to level of parental involvement. My statements are based on my experience going through the public HeadStart to K-12 programs. Also, I agree with the ones who point out that charter schools can be "selective" while public schools cannot.

[sanantone]

I've made a few Career Point jokes myself. Their reputation in San Antonio is akin to Everest College's nationwide. There are so many parodies of Everest College commercials.