Teacher Pushout: Ideologies and Consequences of Current K–12 Compensation Structures

• In Event: Leaving or Staying in Teaching? Intentions, Ideologies, and Job Satisfaction

Abstract

This quantitative study unpacks the relationship between teacher exit, wage competitiveness, and working conditions. Examining U.S. school finance structures reveals conditions whereby local administrators have little choice but offering teachers sub-competitive wages compared to similar professionals. Leveraging the 2011-12 Schools and Staffing Survey and 2015 Comparable Wage Index for Teachers, the study tests teacher tolerance to these wage deficits.

In 2011-12, U.S. teacher wages required a $16,000 (33%) increase to reach wage parity with similar professionals. Working conditions significantly related to teacher exit, while wage competitiveness associated significantly with teachers seeking new school sites, ceteris paribus. A wage parity gap of $15,000/year (+1SD) correlated with an 18% increase in attrition. As with students, systemic under-resourcing correlates with teacher “push out.”

Authors

• Meredith Galloway, California State University - Sacramento

• Frank M. Adamson, California State University - Sacramento