September 21, 2004

Teacher pay lags nearly 20%

            The Economic Policy Institute issued a report August 26 that attempts to answer the question that has plagued communities since teachers gained the right to bargain collectively. Based on the examination of several recent analyses of teacher pay and benefits, “How Does Teacher Pay Compare?” concludes that not only are teachers under-paid relative to other occupations requiring similar on the job skills, but the pay gap has increased in recent years.

        Since 1993, teacher wages have fallen 11.5 percent relative to workers with similar education and skills. Moreover, when benefits are taken into account, there was no improvement in benefits to offset the increased wage disadvantage.

        Obviously, these pay disparities make it more difficult for school systems to keep effective professionals from being lured away by higher paying fields. This is particularly troubling because scholars continuously reaffirm the importance of quality teaching, and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) mandates that every classroom have a highly qualified teacher.

            Some of the report’s major findings include:

• The ability of schools to attract and retain quality teachers over the long run is strongly shaped by how much teachers earn relative to other comparable workers.
• Teachers’ wages have fallen farther behind those of other workers since 1996.
• In 2003, the average weekly wage of male teachers was $899; in contrast, the average weekly wages for college graduates who were not teachers was $1246.
• Compared to other workers in comparably skilled occupations, including accountants, reporters, registered nurses and computer programmers, teachers earned $116 less per week in 2002, a wage disadvantage of 12.2 percent.
• Weekly wages have grown far more slowly for teachers than for workers in comparable professions, deteriorating almost 15 percent since 1993.
• Although teachers have a greater share of their compensation in benefits than other comparably skilled occupations, even when benefits are taken into account, a 12.5 percent disadvantage in total compensation remains.

In Rhode Island, EPI figures show that the last time teacher salaries were ahead of college-educated non-teachers was 1940, when they were14 percent, or $186 higher. Since then, however, every decade has recorded a decline in real dollars for teacher pay when compared to the progress of salaries in other professions. In 2000, Rhode Island numbers show teachers behind by 19.3 percent, or $9,405. The figures quoted here have been age-adjusted, to ensure that they are not tainted by age and job experience, factors that can skew salary levels.

Male teachers, when compared to other male college-educated professionals in 2000, were behind by 27.7 percent, or $16,630. Female teachers were behind 8.6 percent, or $3,014.

“Higher teacher pay is essential to recruiting and retaining talented teachers,” said National Education Association Rhode Island (NEARI) President Larry Purtill. “It’s no wonder private industry is draining our teaching force, particularly in math and science. Dedication alone cannot support a family in today’s economy – teachers, male and female, need parity with other college-educated professionals.”

Figures are based on the U.S. Census. Read a snapshot of the book How Does Teacher Pay Compare? at www.epinet.org.