Dive Brief:
- With many districts tightening budgets nationwide, the National Council on Teacher Quality is stressing the need for states to create policies that allow schools to spend “smarter” while also reducing teacher turnover.
- Examples of such policies include increasing teacher salaries in hard-to-staff schools and subjects, boosting pay for high-performing teachers, and redirecting spending away from incentivizing teachers to earn master’s degrees, which NCTQ describes as “ineffective.”
- But NCTQ found in a Sept. 29 report that just 13 states incentivize teachers who work in hard-to-staff schools with additional pay, and 17 states do so for teachers who work in hard-to-staff subject areas. Meanwhile, only 10 states require districts to consider teacher performance in salary decisions.
Dive Insight:
NCTQ, an education research nonprofit, noted that targeted teacher pay policies have been proven to reel in more highly effective educators into hard-to-staff schools as well as increase retention rates and student achievement.
It can cost schools anywhere from $12,000 to $25,000 to replace just one teacher — depending on a district’s size, according to 2024 research from the Learning Policy Institute.
At the same time, about 80% of district budgets are tied to salaries and benefits, NCTQ said. That means teacher compensation is “both the largest line item and the most powerful lever available” to states and districts, the report said.
Strategic pay policies have been proposed as a solution for the past several years as a way to help address persistent teacher shortages in positions that are often hard to fill, such as special education, math and science.
“Paying more for hard-to-fill positions and rewarding top performers is a no-brainer in most professions. Teaching should be no different, especially when budgets are tightening,” said NCTQ President Heather Peske in a Sept. 29 statement. “States cannot easily spend more to build a stronger teacher workforce, but they can spend smarter by directing their dollars toward effective teachers and the schools and subjects where they’re needed most.”
Three states — Alabama, Hawaii and Texas — provide differentiated pay to teachers in hard-to-staff schools of at least $5,000 annually, according to NCTQ. That minimum amount in additional pay has been positively linked to improved teacher recruitment and retention, the report said.
On top of that, NCTQ found that Texas offers the largest annual amount in differentiated pay by offering up to $36,000 annually for teachers deemed the most effective in their instructional skills.
Alabama also offers competitive incentives up to $15,000 annually to middle and high school math and science teachers. The state also offers another $5,000 for those instructing in hard-to-staff schools. And in Hawaii, NCTQ said, the state’s $10,000 annual bonus for special education teachers has lowered the number of vacant special education roles and uncertified teachers instructing students with disabilities by 35%.
While some states implement differentiated teacher pay policies, many districts are also facing difficult budget decisions as enrollment continues to decline and costs increase. In some cases, districts have had to propose school closures or consolidations and teacher layoffs.
