New Trends in School Education Development Based on the Annual Monitoring Research Conducted by the Center of Economy of Continuous Education of the Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA)

We analyze results from the fourth wave of the annual monitoring of school effectiveness, conducted by the Center of Economy of Continuous Education of the Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA) since the academic year 2012/13. Based on a survey of school principals, teachers and parents, we build quite a holistic picture of school education evolution and changes to its components, such as the staffing of schools, teaching quality, as well as professionalism, salaries and social positions of teachers. The development of the school education system from the perspective of principals and teachers is compared to the parental requirements for school education. We also show the effects of the economic downturn on education, in particular the cuts to school funding. Teachers report a decrease in their salaries. Egalitarian distribution of incentive bonuses has given way to a higher differentiation in teachers' pay, which can be regarded as a positive effect of the efficient contract. The reduced effective demand for supplementary educational services entails a decline in extrabudgetary revenues. There has been a perceptible decrease in the territorial differentiation in teacher remuneration, teacher engagement in advanced training programs, and the quality of education as such. At the same time, regional differentiation is growing. The chain of transformations launched by the remuneration reform has rejuvenated the staff composition of Russian schools, enhanced the quality of the teaching staff, and contributed to better interaction between teachers and other school education actors, but the effect on the quality of graduates has yet to be revealed.