Does paying teachers more for Master's Degrees make sense?

At first blush, the question above seems almost like nonsense. You would think that teachers with Masters Degrees do a better job with students.

Well, guess again.

A report released about four months ago by the Center on Reinventing Public Education says,

“On average, master’s degrees in education bear no relation to student achievement. Master’s degrees in math and science have been linked to improved student achievement in those subjects, but 90 percent of teachers’ master’s degrees are in education programs—a notoriously unfocused and process-dominated course of study.” (note: reference numbers removed)

The Center’s report goes on to cite the amount of extra money Kentucky pays for those apparently unproductive Master of Education degrees. It comes to a really tidy sum, $143,867,668 every year.

I should note that this problem is well-known in some Kentucky circles. The Kentucky Education Professionals Standards Board will actually cancel approval of all existing Master of Education programs in the state on December 31, 2010. Every college in Kentucky that wants to continue to operate Master of Education programs will have to reapply for a new certification under new guidelines. Hopefully, those guidelines will lead to revised programs that cover what really improves learning for kids.