Report card data ‘misleading’

Dave Beaumont, of West Amwell
    Anyone reading last week’s edition of The Beacon will have noticed an apparent conflict with statements I made in my last letter to the editor and the Beacon article on the 2009-10 Report Card results recently released by the DOE.
   The article correctly reflected the median teacher salaries for 2009-10 as reported by the DOE on its Report Card website, specifically that South’s median teacher salary was $61,268 vs. the state average of $60,557.
   But if you look carefully, you’ll notice that a different state average was reported for the elementary schools — $55,200. How can this be?
   The DOE website states that state averages are based on the four school types, vocational, special services, elementary and secondary. It is not the average for all New Jersey schools.
   So that would suggest that South’s median was compared to the average median for secondary schools only.
   However, looking at the report cards for other secondary schools, one will quickly notice that different state averages were used. For example, $66,220 was reported as the state average for Hunterdon Central, Delaware and North Hunterdon while $61,840 was reported as the state average for Trenton, Princeton, Belvidere, Ewing, Hopewell Central and Emerson.
   Bottom line is the DOE’s reported state averages are not consistent across all schools. In fact, there are only 10 schools that use the same state average as South ($60,557), and the bulk of the schools use $61,840 or $66,220 as the state average.
   The point here is the data posted on the DOE Report Card website is misleading without a clear explanation of what is being reported.
   However, analyzing the detailed raw school data provided by the DOE yields an average median for all schools for 2009-10 as $62,069 while the state average median for all secondary schools was $63,646.
   Another statistic to note is from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational handbook, which reports the average salary earned by a New Jersey secondary school teacher is $65,420.
   My letter last week was based on DOE data for 2008-09, prior to the release of the 2009-10 data. However, my statement still holds true that the median salary for South teachers — $61,268 — was less than the actual state average — $62,069.
   It was also lower than the actual state average for secondary schools — $63,646. And certainly lower than what the USBLS reported for average secondary school teacher salaries.
   A final note. Median teacher salaries are dynamic and can rise and fall year to year.
   Some common drivers are a teacher’s annual movement to the next step on salary guides or teachers retire, and new teachers are hired at lower salaries or retire and not replaced at all.
   Not surprising then, like other schools, South’s median teacher salary has fluctuated up and down year to year.