Michael Podgursky, Lawrence Mishel, and Sean Corcoran, National Council on Teacher Quality
June 29, 2005
A few weeks ago (see here), we reviewed an article by Rick Hess, noting, "Ad hominem attacks, overblown rhetoric, and the imputation of sinister motives are failings of both sides [in the education debates] and have made compromise next to impossible." The new "Square-off" series from the National Council on Teacher Quality, which made its debut this week, may be the antidote to that shrillness. In reasoned tones, Podgursky (author of an important Education Next article on the topic; see here) and Mishel and Corcoran (who responded to Podgursky in How Does Teacher Pay Compare?; see here) discuss how to measure teacher compensation (through an hourly or weekly wage measure? And what about benefits?), the limitations of data sources, and how best to attract highly qualified candidates to the teaching pool. A refreshingly polite, yet bracing exchange of views on an important topic. We look forward to future installments. You can get to it here.