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CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS
ISSUE
BRIEF
MARCH 1993 IB-1-93
DEPOSITORY
JUL 0 8 1393
UNIVERSITY1 of ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN
Teacher Salaries -Are They Competitive?
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p ecent concern about teacher shortages has raised questions about the attractiveness of the teaching profession. Some argue that increasing teacher salaries would make teaching more attractive and competitive with other professions and would improve recruitment and retention of better qualified teachers. It is of interest, therefore, whether teacher salaries have increased in recent years, how they compare with salaries in other entry level occupations, and how they vary within and across school districts in the Nation. The Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) provides data from a nationally representative sample of public school districts on scheduled teacher salaries for school years 1987-88 and 1990-91 to answer these questions.
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Have teacher salaries increased?
A fter declining in the 1970’s and rising ^^in the 1980’s, teacher salaries in 1988, adjusted for inflation, reached the high they had attained in 1972 (Condition of Education, 1992). Between 1988 and 1991, however, salaries leveled off, keeping pace with inflation. Adjusted teacher salaries at the two entry bachelor and master degree steps remained the same, and increased only slightly at the third reported step (Table 1).
Table 1.—Average scheduled teacher salaries by degree and years of experience for school years 1987-88 and 1990-91 in constant 1991 dollars
19881
1991
Bachelor’s and 0 years
$19,860
19,913
Master’s and 0 years
$21,740
21,698
Master’s and 20 years
$32,849
33,199
Highest
Salary
$36,065
'1988 salaries adjusted using the Consumer Price Index of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
How do teaching salaries compare with salaries of other professions?	1
O alary is one consideration in the choice of college major and occupation. In most occupations, salaries differ depending on the supply and demand conditions in the particular field. In teaching, however, salaries are the same regardless of the field of specialization. Thus, the choice of a new college graduate to teach or to work in another occupation may have a cost in terms of the difference in salary. A consideration that may compensate for differences in salary is length of the contract year, typically shorter for teaching than for other occupations. The 1990-91 Survey of Recent College Graduates provides entry level salary data for new bachelor degree recipients in non-teaching occupations one year after graduation.
Table 2.--Average annual salaries of new bachelor degree recipients in teaching and other selected occupations, 1990-91
Occupation	Salary	Difference
Teaching	$19,913'	—
Computer Science	30,419	$10,504
Math, Physical Sciences	26,040	6,125
Busi ness/Management	25,961	6,046
Writers/Artists	22,353	2,438
Biologists	21,325	1,410
Communications	19,584	-329
Public Affairs/Social Services	19,227	-686
All occupations	23,632	3,717
'Scheduled salary based on average contract length of 9.7 months.
New bachelor degree recipients in the fields of computer
sciences, math and physical sciences, and business and management, who choose to teach, do so at considerable financial cost ($6,000 to $10,000) (Table 2). The same is true for those in letters and fine arts (writers and artists), although to a lesser extent. Graduates in the fields of biology and communications who choose teaching are not penalized financially for their decision; and those in public
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UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY AT URBANA CHAMPAIGi STACKS
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3 0112 003324859affairs or social services realize a small financial advantage in teaching. Salary data from the same survey of recent college graduates conducted in 1987, adjusted to constant 1991 dollars, indicate that the relative standing of teaching versus other entry level professions has not changed over those 4 years.
How do public school teacher salaries compare across steps in the salary schedule and across school districts in the Nation?
Figure 1.—Scheduled teacher salaries for 1988 and 1991 by step and by region
10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000
■ Bachelor's and I—i M aster's and 0 years experience I_I0 years experience
«] Master's and 320 years experience
I n addition to salary differences across professions, teacher salaries vary by steps, and across districts, by geographic location and size. The average teacher salary in 1991 at the highest level was 181 percent of that at the entry level, with increases at each reported step (Table 1). In 1988 the Northeast and West shared the highest rank for salaries (Figure 1). By 1991, the Northeast had moved ahead of the West at all reported steps. As. iriU.988, salaries in the Northeast and West remained ahead of those in the Midwest and South. The Midwest and South pay equivalent salaries at the entry bachelor’s step, but the Midwest pays higher salaries than the South at the higher steps.
The larger the district (up to 5,000 students and more) the higher the salary at all reported steps (Table 3); and as the steps increase so too do the differences in salaries. At the entry level bachelor’s and master’s steps, salaries increase by about 15 percent from the smallest to largest districts. At the more advanced steps, salary increases ranged from 24 to 32 percent from the smallest to the largest districts.
Conclusion
T eacher salaries are important indicators of the relative economic well-being of teachers and of general teacher supply and demand conditions in the Nation. Over this 3-year period teacher salaries have kept pace with the increase in the cost of living.
And while teachers may find higher salaries in certain regions of the country and in the larger school districts, entry level teacher salaries are not competitive with salaries paid in other entry level professions. The real cost in salary to new bachelor degree recipients of choosing teaching as a career, particularly for those in the fields of computer science, math and physical sciences, remains high.
For more information, see the following reports
U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. 1991 Schools and Staffing Survey, Sample Design and Estimation (NCES 93-449), by S. Kaufman. Washington, D.C.: 1993.
U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Occupational and Educational Outcomes of 1989-90 Bachelor’s Degree Recipients 1 Year after Graduation: 1991 (NCES 92-162), Washington, D.C. 1993.
Sssut Briefs present information on education topics of current interest All estimates shown are based on samples and are subject to sampling variability. All differences reported are statistically significant at the .05 level. In the design, conduct, and data processing of NCES surveys, efforts are made to minimize the effects of nonsampling errors, such as item nonresponse, measurement error, data processing error, or other systematic error.
Table 3.--Scheduled teacher salaries by step and by district size, 1990-91
Bachelor’s and 0 years
District Size 0-999
1.000-4,999
5.000-9,999 10,000 or more
$19,001
20,691
21,487
21,829
Master’s and 0 years
$20,649
22,570
23,601
23,962
Master’s and 20 years
$30,557
35,644
37,384
37,728
Highest
Salary
$32,478
39,269
41,960
42,842
This Issae Brief was prepared by Mary Rollefson, NCES and Carol L. Rohr, Pinkerton Computer Consultants, Standard errors for the Issue Brief and additional information about the Schools and Staffing Survey and Recent College Graduates Survey are available upon request Contact the Special Surveys and Analysis Branch, National Center for Education. Statistics; 555 New Jersey Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. 20208-5651, (202) 219-1325.__