Which school do you want to support?
Teacher pay is by far the largest cost of operating a school.
People choose to become teachers for many reasons, but getting rich is not among them. As a job, teaching is steady, secure work — usually with good benefits. But it doesn't pay very well, especially for new teachers. This lesson explains how teacher pay systems usually work, how teacher pay compares to other work, and some alternative approaches.
Many new teachers struggle to find places they can afford to live, and it is common for teachers to work second jobs.
In decades long past, teaching was once perceived as a relatively lucrative profession for women, whose professional options were constrained. This premium has evaporated.
The Teacher Salary Project documents the economic struggles of teachers and the impact that it has on children.
According to the California Department of Education, the average annual pre-tax salary for teachers in 2020-21 was $86,000, with a lot of variation. Beginning teachers made about $50,000, and the highest-paid teachers made a little more than $100,000. Teacher pay tends to be higher in areas where the cost of living is higher.
Taking the long view, average teacher pay has risen over time, even adjusted for basic measures of inflation. But so have salaries for just about everything. Since the 1980s, teacher pay in America has lagged comparable employment, as described in Lesson 3.1.
Dr. Sylvia Allegretto, an economist at the University of California, Berkeley, has studied teacher compensation for many years. Her analysis is thorough, incorporating data from all over the US, including hours worked, salaries, bonuses, benefits, gender, age, experience, union membership and geography. According to Dr. Allegretto's 2022 analysis, after expanding for years, the teacher wage gap in America has reached an all-time high. In terms of weekly wages, teacher pay lagged comparable work by 32.9% nationally in 2021. Including the value of benefits, the annualized total compensation gap reached a record 14.2%. (Note: The gap is smaller in California (17.6%) than it is in most states.)
Why aren't more men teaching? Pay is certainly part of the story. In 2018, men teaching public school were making 31.5 percent less in wages than men in other comparable professions.
Pay for teachers in America is also low compared to pay for teachers in other countries. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) collects international data about public education, which it summarizes annually in its monumental publication Education at a Glance. In the following chart, look to the right corner to find the United States.
Teacher salary and compensation are typically negotiated between school districts and teacher unions. The graphic below from the California Legislative Analyst shows the average package offered by districts in each county (Click image to view interactive version). Benefits in this view include health, dental, and vision coverage. Other benefits are not included, most notably pension (see Lesson 3.11) contributions or benefits. The map also makes no adjustment for variations in local costs.
The largest factor in local cost of living is the cost of rent, which greatly varies in different parts of the state. EdSource researched housing affordability for teachers in the state, finding that many of the areas where teachers are paid the most are where teachers can least afford to live.
School districts are very sensitive to the local cost of living, and in the big picture, teachers salaries tend to strongly reflect these costs. In 2018, the St. Louis Fed studied the correlation. A picture paints a thousand words:
Teacher pay is usually determined by just two things: years worked in the district and number of postgraduate credits earned as recognized by that district.
Teachers in virtually all American public schools are paid according to a rigidly defined single salary schedule.” If you know the number of years a teacher has worked in a district (step) and the number of postgraduate credits the teacher has completed (column or lane), you can determine his or her pay, perhaps with the addition of a few small adjustments or incentives. Many districts offer a salary increase to teachers who obtain a master’s degree.
Those steps and columns can differ significantly from one district to another. For example, the graphs below show the basic salary schedules for Oakland Unified and San Mateo/Foster City in 2016. When teachers make a career move, pay is one important factor.
You might be asking - are these salary schedules good or bad? As usual, the answer is mixed.
The good news is that the widespread use of a single salary schedule has reduced or even erased discriminatory pay practices related to gender and ethnicity.
Seniority pay policies serve as "golden handcuffs"
Seniority is generally counted in terms of the number of years a teacher has worked in a specific district. Taking a job in a different district usually resets the teacher's seniority. Districts generally do not match an experienced teacher's salary when "stealing" a teacher from another district, reflecting the power of seniority-based pay systems in teacher contracts. At the high end of the experience curve, teachers are paid more than they would be in a strictly competitive marketplace, and there is a real penalty to changing employers. Especially when paired with the teacher pension system (Lesson 3.11), the salary schedule encourages teachers to stay put, which contributes to the stability of district faculty. Teachers have economic reasons to stay with a district, even if it is a tough place to work.
The bad news is that the single salary schedule system is rigidly indifferent to expertise, effectiveness, and market conditions. Teachers typically earn the same regardless of whether they teach effectively or ineffectively, whether they teach a subject that requires general knowledge or specialized knowledge, whether they teach many children or just a handful, and whether or not they bring out the best in their colleagues. Also, as discussed in Lesson 3.5, there is little or no evidence that students benefit when teachers earn advanced degrees. This may be money that could be better spent.
Some argue that major changes to the salary schedule should be "on the table" in district and union dialogue about strategies for change. This section summarizes some of the key ideas and what's known about them.
Reforms related to teacher pay propose to revise the salary schedule (or replace it altogether) in order to change the incentive structure. (See puzzle graphic for examples.)
Like many states, California has an acute shortage of teachers credentialed to teach students with special education needs. In order to attract candidates and fill positions without burning out unprepared teachers, the 2021 budget included an investment of $90 million into tuition fellowships for aspiring teachers who commit to teach subjects with shortages, including special education.
All elements of an alternative compensation (altcomp) program are controversial, but none more so than performance pay, sometimes also known as merit pay. Pay-based incentives are common in business, especially in sales roles. Many businesspeople regard it as self-evident that teacher pay should vary with performance, too.
Many teachers, by contrast, regard it as self-evident that such incentives are patronizing because if teachers were in it for the money they would choose another line of work.
In 2009, Daniel Pink brought attention to the motivational risks of pay for performance in his bestseller Drive: the Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. The heart of Pink’s thesis is that intrinsic motivation comes from a desire to achieve mastery, autonomy, and purpose. He presents evidence that conditional pay incentives can actually interfere with that drive.
If your school or district is considering changes to the way teachers are paid, prepare for a bumpy ride and do your homework.
The short answer is no. Experiments with pay-for-performance trials have produced disappointing results. Paychecks might be a small factor in whether a teacher stays at a school or in a role, but appear to have little or no influence in day-to-day work. After a decade of learning from the federal Teacher Incentive Fund program, it's clear that programs introducing merit pay produce conflict, mistrust, and distraction more often than they produce measurable positive results.
Most tests of incentive systems for teachers have been modest, offering only small bonuses and producing no clear benefit. Some argue that such experiments are merely too tentative. An evaluation of the most aggressive of all pay-for-performance plans, the IMPACT program in Washington, D.C., showed some results, mainly by spurring low-performing teachers to quit. Bruce Baker, a professor at Rutgers University who comments extensively on flaws in the interpretation of data about education results, questions whether getting teachers to quit actually counts as a positive result.
If your school or district is considering changes to the way teachers are paid, prepare for a bumpy ride, particularly if the program involves judgments about performance. You can add a lot to the conversation by doing the homework that others may avoid. It is a much more complex topic than most believe, and the evidence of impact from past attempts is weak compared to the certainty of distracting conflict associated with attempting it. It's helpful to view Laney's story, the video at the top of this lesson, and consider what she needs to be successful.
Updated October 2017
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Carol Kocivar April 26, 2023 at 5:35 pm
From the National Education Association
Average educator pay has failed to keep up with inflation. Teachers are making $3,644 less, on average, than they did 10 years ago, adjusted for inflation.
Nearly 40% of all education support professionals working full-time in K-12 schools earn less than $25,000 per year. More than a third of all education support professionals (K-12 and higher education combined) working full-time earn less than $25,000 annually.
Teachers earn 25% more, on average, in states with collective bargaining, and school support staff earn 15% more. In addition, higher education faculty in unions earn about $4,000 more than non-union faculty in the same states.
https://www.nea.org/resource-library/educator-pay-and-student-spending-how-does-your-state-rank?utm_source=edaction&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20230424_educatordatarelease&ms=email_edaction_20230424_educatordatarelease
Carol Kocivar April 26, 2023 at 5:31 pm
See New State-by-State Data from EdWeek April 2023
2021-22 2022-23 increase
California $88,508 $90,151 1.86%
https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/how-much-do-teachers-get-paid-see-new-state-by-state-data/2023/04?utm_source=nl&utm_medium=eml&utm_campaign=eu&M=6690765&UUID=0bce682728fff1c2bdffb81541b25c1f&T=8954940
Bianca 4S February 25, 2023 at 8:54 am
Jeff Camp - Founder September 8, 2022 at 5:04 am
Jeff Camp - Founder September 8, 2022 at 5:04 am
Carol Kocivar June 14, 2022 at 1:09 pm
The Legislative Analyst provides an updated 2020-21 look at teacher pay in school districts throughout California. School districts and teacher unions typically negotiate compensation packages, with the graphic showing the average package offered by districts in a county. The benefits component includes health, dental, and vision coverage but excludes other benefits, most notably pension contributions.
https://lao.ca.gov/Education/Teachers/State
Carol Kocivar June 5, 2022 at 4:47 pm
Teacher Salaries: A Key Factor in Recruitment and Retention: Learning Policy Institute
" Among teachers under 40 who left the profession during the pandemic, the top reason for their departure was that the pay was insufficient to merit the risk or stress of the job
https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/blog/teacher-salaries-key-factor-recruitment-and-retention?utm_source=LPI+Master+List&utm_campaign=f8e3bb88e9-LPIMC_TeacherWages_2022_04_14&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_7e60dfa1d8-f8e3bb88e9-42325679
Carol Kocivar June 5, 2022 at 3:39 pm
Teacher Salaries Aren't Keeping Up with Inflation
Teachers are making $2,179 less, on average, than they did 10 years ago, adjusted for inflation
Find data for each state: https://www.nea.org/research-publications
Carol Kocivar May 23, 2022 at 11:37 pm
https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/understanding-teacher-compensation-state-by-state-analysis?utm_source=LPI+Master+List&utm_campaign=f8e3bb88e9-LPIMC_TeacherWages_2022_04_14&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_7e60dfa1d8-f8e3bb88e9-42325679
Carol Kocivar May 15, 2022 at 3:32 pm
“Covid-19 revealed how teachers — in addition to nurturing, protecting and mentoring our children — are essential to a smoothly running society. It’s time to pay them accordingly.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/28/opinion/teacher-pay-covid.html
Jeff Camp - Founder March 22, 2022 at 3:52 pm
None of the examples cited are in California.
Selisa Loeza October 23, 2021 at 11:46 am
Although the rates in California may seem competitive, as the article states, it truly is skimpy.
Carol Kocivar October 8, 2021 at 6:15 pm
The US has slipped from third to last to second to last.
https://ncee.org/webinar-event/education-at-a-glance-2021-implications-for-the-u-s/
christian park November 19, 2020 at 7:13 pm
Jeff Camp December 11, 2020 at 5:21 pm
Jeff Camp January 24, 2020 at 10:28 am
Jeff Camp April 28, 2019 at 3:55 pm
Carol Kocivar June 18, 2018 at 6:39 am
This paper takes a state-by-state look at education spending levels, teacher salaries, and how salary levels correlate with turnover, staffing shortages, and other issues.
Here is the link.
https://www.erstrategies.org/tap/low_teacher_salaries_101
Pamela Wright April 16, 2018 at 2:39 am
Jeff Camp - Founder April 17, 2018 at 1:08 pm
Pamela Wright April 16, 2018 at 2:38 am
Jeff Camp - Founder April 17, 2018 at 1:46 pm
Carol Kocivar April 8, 2018 at 10:40 am
Check out their graphic
Carol Kocivar September 19, 2017 at 11:22 am
http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/download/9617041ec072.pdf
Jeff Camp March 16, 2017 at 5:08 pm
Jeff Camp November 18, 2016 at 3:42 pm
Carol Kocivar October 28, 2016 at 12:33 pm
Check out our blog that discusses the widening teacher pay gap.
https://ed100.org/blog/teacher-shortage
Jeff Camp September 20, 2016 at 9:16 am
Carol Kocivar - Ed100 December 4, 2014 at 10:57 am
"Generally speaking, the salary trajectory for teaching is characterized by relatively small, incremental raises doled out each year, serving in stark contrast to many jobs in the private sector, with its system of promotions, bonuses and relatively rapid raises."
http://www.nctq.org/dmsView/Smart_Money
Jeff Camp - Founder November 7, 2011 at 3:07 pm
Tamara Schiff March 31, 2011 at 3:35 pm
The teaching profession needs to make dramatic changes in order to ensure that the most effective teachers are in our classrooms. TAP provides an opportunity to make the changes necessary to improve teacher quality and student learning for all children.
Don Shalvey March 31, 2011 at 8:18 am
If we consider the facts that some subject areas like math, sciences and special education have enormous teacher shortages and that there are schools where many students have been traditionally underserved then addressing these needs with additional compensation is both logical and appropriate. It is also appropriate to recognize the value that a teacher adds to his or her students in the areas of intellectual, personal and social development. Outcomes matter both in terms of value to the studenmts and value to one's colleagues and the positive culture and climate at the school.
The challenge is how to do it in a fair and consistent manner. It is a challenge worth accepting knowing that more often than not the concept of fairness emerges locally rather than nationally. We must find ways to honor and recognize highly effective teachers and find incentives to have them continue to bring their talents and inspiration to youth for many years. I believe those incentives are a combination of an increased base compensation, incentive compensation for preparation, assignment and performance with a stroing nod towards insuring that they interact always with stunning colleagues and an effective and inspiring principal.