Analysis of the PISA results has revealed some other
interesting facts. One is that higher teacher
salaries dominate small class size as a factor in
high PISA scores. This is a reassuring finding
because it suggests that secondary school education
can be improved at no net increase in cost, since
higher teacher salaries are offset by larger
classes—if class size is raised in proportion to
increases in teacher salaries, there is no net
increase in the school’s cost, and there should
actually be a reduction in cost in the long term
because a reduction in the number of classrooms
reduces the size and therefore cost of a school even
if each classroom is larger
That seems to indicate that paying teachers more does help.
