HAZELWOOD, Mo. – Many public school districts in Missouri, like many across the nation, hand out automatic, annual “step raises” to most of their teachers.

The raises are based mostly on years of experience – every year you move up another “step” on the salary chart – with bonuses typically available for those teachers who complete graduate level college courses.

The raises are not based on merit or performance. Remarkable teachers are on the same pay scale as the ineffective ones.

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In the private sector, of course, raises are typically based on some sort of performance measure. If that were the case in public schools, and student performance were the measure, annual raises for teachers would be a lot less frequent in a lot of schools.

EAGnews took a look at four Missouri school districts, to determine how their students are performing. Residents of those districts can then ask themselves – did our entire teaching staff really deserve a raise?

The Hazelwood school district paid out $1.2 million in step raises in 2013-14.

In 22 state testing categories (English, math, science and social studies), Hazelwood students performed below the state average in all but one, in terms of the percentage of students who scored proficient or advanced.

In fact, Hazelwood students finished at least 10 percentage points behind the state average in 15 of those categories.

On the ACT test, Hazelwood students scored a composite 18.2, compared to the state average of 21.8.

Despite that, the average teacher salary in Hazelwood was $56,204 in 2013-14, compared to a statewide average of $47,844. Hazelwood administrators, who supervise the teachers, made an average of $122,446, compared to the $87,195 statewide average.

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One might expect such an investment in salary (included step raises) to equal an improvement in student performance.

Results were similar in the Raytown district, which also invested $1.2 million in step raises in 2013-14.

The percentage of Raytown students scoring proficient or advanced was below the state average in all 22 categories. The district was at least 10 percentage points behind the state average in 15 categories and at least 20 points behind in four.

Raytown’s composite ACT score was 19.8 while the state average was 21.8.

The dropout rate in the Raytown district was 5.2 percent, compared to a statewide average of 2.5 percent. The four-year graduation rate was 82.3 percent, compared to the state average of 87.2 percent.

Pretty dismal results, yet the teachers were still rewarded with an annual raise.

Academic testing results were better in the St. Joseph district, which paid out $562,000 in step raises in 2013-14.

A higher percentage of students from the district were proficient or advanced in six categories, as opposed to the state average, but the district fell below the state average in 14 categories.

The district’s composite ACT score was reasonable – 21.3 as opposed to the state average of 21.8.

One area of concern was the number of core courses not taught by “highly qualified teachers” in two schools. At Spring Garden Middle School, 92 out of 120 teachers met that definition, while at Central High only 407 of 451 made the grade, according to the district’s state-issued report card.

The Columbia school district paid out $2.4 million in teacher step raises in 2013-14.

Columbia fell below the state average in the number of proficient or advanced students in 15 of 22 academic categories.

Columbia students did outperform the state average on the ACT test, 23.3 versus 21.8.

But like St. Joseph, Columbia has too many core classes being taught by instructors who are not designated as “highly qualified teachers.” Only 79 of 94 met that definition at Ann Hawkins Gentry Middle School, only 191 of 243 at David H. Hickman High School, and only 9 of 64 at Frederick Douglass High School.

But they all received their step raises, highly qualified or not.