An analysis of the relationships between school district salary supplements and selected teacher characteristics and student achievement in Georgia

This quantitative dissertation used the Pearson r coefficient to determine whether relationships exist between local salary supplements for public school teachers in the state of Georgia and selected teacher characteristics as well as student achievement data. The researcher selected the percentage of teachers with 11 or more years of experience and the percentage of teachers with advanced degrees within school districts as the teacher characteristics. The researcher collected student achievement data using state math and reading scores on the CRCT and GHSGT from the 2008--2009 school year. No systematic positive relationships were found between salary supplements and the two selected teacher characteristics of teachers' years of experience or advanced degrees. However, significant positive relationships were found between local salary supplements and student achievement in math and reading at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. A discussion of findings provided possible explanations of the results as they related to previous research.