Smart Money: What Teachers Make, How Long It Takes and What It Buys Them. Revised

What teachers are paid matters. Many factors play a role in making the decision to become a teacher, but, for many people, compensation heavily influences the decision not only to enter the profession but also whether to stay in it. Compensation certainly influences where a teacher chooses to work. Because school districts take different approaches to compensation, prospective teachers should accept a new job with their eyes wide open. Knowing where salaries start and end is not enough; they must also understand the path they will take from starting salary to the top of the scale. This report examines the relative competitiveness of teacher salaries among large school districts in the United States, answering three mostly ignored questions: (1) In which districts will teachers rise to the top of the salary ladder the fastest; (2) Over the span of a full career, where can teachers earn the most money; and (3) After adjusting for cost of living, which districts provide teachers the most "bang for the buck"? Appended are: (1) What factors into teacher salary systems; (2) Assumptions for lifetime earnings calculations in performance pay districts: Average Teacher Performance; Above Average Teacher Performance; and Exemplary Teacher Performance; and (3) Districts by lifetime earnings and years to high annual salaries (unadjusted for cost of living).