Teacher salaries influence entry, supply, and retention in teaching¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r1 · q2
Currency · newest study 2016 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · overdue for a recheck since 2021: baselines and conditions change

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Salary levels affect the supply of teachers, the distribution of teachers across districts, and teachers' decisions to remain in the profession. → Podolsky 2016 q2 i? Of leavers who would consider returning, 67% rated a salary increase as extremely or very important to their decision to return. → Podolsky 2016

Evidence¶

Podolsky 2016¶

Podolsky, A., Kini, T., Bishop, J., & Darling-Hammond, L. (2016). Solving the Teacher Shortage: How to Attract and Retain Excellent Educators. Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute. https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/solving-teacher-shortage doi:10.54300/262.960

q2 · i? · associational · r1

Analysis of the nationally representative 2011-12 Schools and Staffing Survey and Teacher Follow-up Survey reported in the report's salary section. The report states that "67% rated an increase in salary as extremely or very important to their decision to return"; no effect size is printed.

"Of public school teachers who left the profession in 2012 and said they would consider returning, 67% rated an increase in salary as extremely or very important to their decision to return."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Traditional salary schedules may not reward effective teaching or give the most effective teachers incentives to work in high-need schools, motivating performance-based compensation — related
• Districts' prior-year teacher turnover was negatively associated with certification rates, and certification rates tend to be higher where beginning teacher salaries are higher — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Talent-system reforms, including an experience-based salary scale and earlier recruitment, coincided with retention of over 90 percent of effective teachers — related
• In 2017, the cost-of-living-adjusted starting teacher salary was higher in rural Utah districts, but the average scheduled teacher salary was lower in rural than non-rural districts — related
• The value of the same teacher wage differs across states because cost of living differs, so the report adjusts starting salaries using Regional Price Parities — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• School district participation in the Missouri Career Ladder Program tends to increase teacher retention in the district and the profession, especially for mid-career teachers — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• A smaller percentage of classes in rural Utah districts were taught by highly qualified teachers than in non-rural districts, and rural teacher transfer-out rates were lower, from 2012 to 2017 — related
• The report recommends four policy strategies: competitive equitable compensation, targeted supply in shortage fields, improved retention, and a national teacher labor market — related
• Working conditions, especially accountability pressures and administrative support, shape teachers' decisions to leave or stay — related
• State average starting teacher salaries in 2019-20 spanned bands from below $35,000 to $50,000 or above — related
• On average, more effective early-career teachers remain in the teaching profession and stay in their initial schools — related
• Mentoring strongly influences new teachers' decisions to stay in or leave teaching (review attribution) — related
• Teachers with little or no pedagogical preparation are 2 to 3 times more likely to leave teaching than comprehensively prepared teachers — related