State of the States 2022: Teacher Compensation Strategies

Salaries are one of the most powerful policy levers states and school districts can use to support a qualified, effective, and diverse teacher workforce. However, strategic pay remains underutilized as a tool to attract and retain great teachers, particularly to the schools or subjects that are traditionally harder to staff. New data and analysis from the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) explores states' policy approaches to teacher compensation and offers recommendations for state leaders as they establish the framework within which districts structure teacher pay. Though both strategies have strong research supporting their positive impact on teacher retention and student learning, NCTQ found only a little over half of states include provisions for additional pay that districts can use to attract teachers where they need them the most and fewer than half of states either require or allow districts to consider teacher performance when determining pay. On the other hand, almost all states have compensation policies that allow for higher pay for teachers who obtain master's degrees, which does not correlate with better outcomes for students. Given the continued reliance on rigid, traditional teacher salary structures, it is not surprising to find there are an abundance of teachers who obtain master's degrees, but still a scarcity of teachers for the most vulnerable student populations and hard-to-fill subject areas. Read the full report for research, national trends, and state-specific data addressing: What role do states play in deciding teacher pay? Do states make use of monetary incentives to attract teachers to hard-to-staff schools or subject areas? What type of monetary incentives do states use to attract teachers to hard-to-staff schools or subject areas? What are states' requirements for use of teacher performance and experience in determining pay? Do states direct districts to make adjustments in starting salary for new teachers who have relevant work experience outside of K-12 education?