Leave no teacher behind (salarywise)

 Much criticism swirls around the educational reform act No Child Left Behind, from its underfunded mandates to its heavy emphasis on testing. Less examined is a structural development detrimental to our children's education: how teachers' salaries have been left behind.

The disturbing numbers can be found in a recent study by the Washington, D.C.-based Economic Policy Institute. The Teacher Penalty shows that teachers in Oregon and across the U.S. earn considerably less than other college graduates.

Their earnings are also well below those of other professionals with similar educational and skill levels, such as accountants, reporters, registered nurses, computer programmers, members of the clergy and personnel officers. Read more of this commentary by Juan Carlos Ordóñez, communications director of the Oregon Center for Public Policy, at Salem-News.com.