Assignment Overview

Teacher Salaries

"Caution" is often the word you hear when someone is talking about using information systems as tools to make decisions. In order to fairly and accurately review and analyze the data, it is important to know as many details as possible about the assumptions and limitations under which the data were reported/collected. For example, the Southern Regional Education Board reports that an analysis of average teacher salaries can be misleading.

Case Assignment

Complete the assigned Background readings and in 3 pages or more (not counting cover sheet and reference list), please explain the potential problems with trying to use data in a national and/or a regional information system to make decisions at the state, province or district level.

Consider this assignment as though you were reviewing several job offers from different states. How would you determine which state board of education was actually preferable? What things would you consider in making your choice?

Please be sure to synthesize Education information from multiple states' websites before summarizing your conclusions.

Assignment Expectations

To receive maximum credit, you must demonstrate understanding of context and purpose of the assignment by bringing all required elements (described above) to the discussion and meeting additional expectations (described below).

The expected length of your Case assignment is 3-4 pages.

Include at least three in-text references, preferably including one which is other than those provided in the assigned readings.

As Master’s-level students, it is expected that you develop strong skills for reviewing literature. (Students must conduct additional review of the literature as necessary.)

Your reference list and overall paper must be formatted properly in APA format and style.

HINT: To ensure a well-organized paper, begin your discussion with an introduction (including purpose statement), and then list the three or four main ideas that you will address. Be sure to include a section for each main idea, and use appropriate headings for each section. Also, include a conclusion.

Please be sure to include ALL assignment tasks.

NOTE: If any web-link is not working, please report it to the professor immediately.

Background Information:

Required Reading

American Federation of Teachers. (2007). Survey of teacher salary trends. Retrieved from http://www.aft.org/sites/default/files/salarysurve…

CNN Money. (2017). Cost of living: How far will my salary go in another city? Retrieved from http://money.cnn.com/calculator/pf/cost-of-living/…

Florida Departments of Education. (2017). PK-12 public school data publication and reports: Staff-teacher salary data 2015-16. Retrieved from http://www.fldoe.org/accountability/data-sys/edu-i…

Payscale. (2017). Average salary for all K-12 Teachers. Retrieved from http://www.payscale.com/research/US/All_K-12_Teach…

Pellegrina, J., & Quellmalz, E. (2010). Perspectives on the integration of technology and assessment. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 43(2), 119-134.

Southern Regional Education Board. (2011). Focus on teacher reform legislation in SREB states: Tenure, dismissal, and performance pay policies. Retrieved from http://publications.sreb.org/2011/11s11_focus_tenu…

Also, use resources below to explore additional literature support for your topic: the search engine sites i.e., Google

Google Scholar: http://scholar.google.com/

Optional Reading

Additional Resources

Writing Resources

As indicated via the expectations for each case assignment essay, as well as our session long project – all submissions are to reflect graduate level research and writing skills. The following web-based resources provide excellent guidance toward this end.

APA 6^th Edition Citation Style, Citation Style Management (2010). Cornell University Library. Retrieved May 2012 from http://www.apastyle.org/learn/tutorials/basics-tut…

APA formatting and style guide (2009), from the Online Writing Lab at Purdue. Retrieved May 2012 from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

APA Overview and Workshop (2009), from the Online Writing Lab at Purdue. Retrieved May 2012 from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/664/01/

Avoiding Plagiarism (2009), from the Online Writing Lab at Purdue. Retrieved May 2012 from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/01/

Grammar and Mechanics (2009), from the Online Writing Lab at Purdue. Retrieved May 2012 from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/