The federal government should take on even more responsibility for raising overall public school performance, including boosting teaching salaries and requiring national performance standards, according to a policy paper released last week by the Century Foundation.

The recommendations by the nonpartisan New York-based foundation would require the government to spend up to $60 billion a year more on education. the vast majority of those funds would be used to bring teacher salaries around the nation more in line with the salaries of other professionals with similar education levels, the Washington Post reports.

Along with that, however, the recommendations urge the Department of Education to institute professional standards and requirements for teachers. For example, high school teachers would have at least have minored in the subject they teach, complete a standard instructional-training course, and go through a one-year apprenticeship, the Post reports.

The proposals are found in the "Expanding the Supply of Quality Teachers" report (the free Adobe Acrobat Reader software is needed to view the file).

Vice President Al Gore has suggested similar educational reforms, but his proposal has involved far less money.

Republican presidential nominee George W. Bush has rejected a stronger federal role, but many conservatives suggest basing pay increases on teacher performance and paying higher salaries in those education fields that are in critically short supply, the newspaper reports.

The policy paper doesn't specify where the billions needed for the effort would come from. The report states that it would cost relatively little -- $2.3 billion a year -- to bring starting teacher salaries in line with other, similarly education professionals.

However, it would cost $30 billion to a total $60 billion a year to bring all public school teacher salaries in line with other professionals, depending on whether the three months of summer are included.

Total teacher salaries in the U.S. now total $75 billion a year, the report states.

The foundation, formerly the Twentieth Century Fund, was launched in 1919. It studies "major economic, political, and social institutions and issues."

Full text of the article is currently found at:
http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/
A21105-2000Aug13.html