More and more school districts and states are beginning to tie teachers’ pay to their students’ test scores. But how are teacher salaries currently calculated, and will these new methods change education for the better?
In this lesson, students will use and compare linear functions to analyze how teacher pay is currently determined according to experience and education. Once they understand the current salary scale system, they can decide whether they would give the alternative merit-based pay an A+ or failing marks.
Students will
Estimate a rate of change (slope) from a graph and table of teacher salaries at various educational levels
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of paying teachers based on experience and educational attainment
Model, using a graph, a new policy to pay teachers based on their students’ standardized test scores
Propose and defend other functions to determine teachers’ salaries
Before you begin
Students should be able to determine a unit rate from a table or graph and be comfortable reading a multiple-line graph.
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Mathalicious lessons provide teachers with an opportunity to teach standards-based math through real-world topics that students care about.
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Topic:
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