"The ESEA has caused ESPs to go back to school, which is a great thing, but the problem is not many ESPs can afford to go back to school. To make things worse, there is no compensation for schooling, or once a degree is earned, there is no compensation for the degree. ESPs are the lowest wage earners, and they cannot always afford to pay for more education.

"The Oregon Department of Education has not established a statewide assessment for districts, so what is 'highly qualified' in one district might not meet the definition of highly qualified in another district. There is no consistency throughout the state. This pits member against member. In some cases, a member who obtains more education may receive a wage increase, while a member who takes a test to demonstrate that he or she is highly qualified may not receive an increase."

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