Supporting Teacher Talent: The View from Generation Y Charts

The "Supporting Teacher Talent" report examines whether different generations of educators bring different aspirations, concerns, and perspectives to teaching. These charts highlight some of the findings from this study; the full report is available at Learning Point Associates, while full survey results are available here.

Charts From Finding One

1. Majorities of all teachers are open to many forms of differentiated pay

2. Gen Y teachers are more likely to believe that performance pay would improve teacher effectiveness

3. Most teachers think that financial rewards for student performance are unfair, although Gen Y teachers are less likely to hold this view

4. All teachers worry about the effects of performance-based compensation, but Gen Y teachers are most concerned about unhealthy competition among teachers, while older teachers worry more about the power it gives to principals

5. While Gen Y teachers are more open to performance pay in general, Gen X and Baby Boomer teachers are more likely to be comfortable basing calculations of performance on students’ standardized test scores.

6. Gen Y and older teachers agree on the extent to which they favor rewarding all teachers in the school financially if their students routinely score higher than similar students on standardized tests

Charts From Finding Two

1. Teachers value good working conditions

2. Low salary is not teachers' primary concern about their jobs

3. Increasing salaries falls in the middle among proposals to improve teaching and financial incentives receive the least support

Charts From Finding Three

1. Making it easier to remove poor teachers from the classroom receives support from all teachers

2. Teachers acknowledge there are underperforming teachers in their schools, and they can agree on who they are

3. However, there is less support for ending tenure

4. There is rising concern that unions too often protect ineffective teachers

Chart From Finding Four

1. Gen Y teachers tend to desire sustained, constructive, and individualized feedback to help them become more effective in the classroom.

Chart From Finding Five

1. All teachers desire meaningful collaboration with their colleagues, not just younger ones

Charts From Finding Six

1. Despite the large numbers of young teachers leaving the classroom, large majorities Gen Y teachers say they see themselves teaching for at least the next 10 years

2. Majorities also see teaching is a lifelong career choice, but many would like to pursue a different job in education