Higher Teacher Salary = Better Education
A recent conversation with a friend of mine, got me thinking about teacher salaries. I never thought that I would be a better teacher if I got paid more money. I am the type of teacher I am, and no matter what school I work at, and what pay I get, I still take care of my students the same way, and teach the same way. I did realiz that if I got paid significantly worse, where I couldn't afford to live off of just one job, and, let's say, I would need to get another night job (on top of my day teaching), then the students would suffer. However, I don't have two jobs, and I don't suffer financially, therefore I never understood how my teacher salary would affect how well my students would learn.
Well, my friend opened my eyes. He didn't present a very hard concept; it's just something I never thought of before: The higher the pay, the better/more people are attracted to the job, and in the long run, we get better teachers. This is so obvious, that I feel very stupid to admit that I never thought of it before. And, statistically it's true - at least in Canada.
In Canada, each district gets to decide individually the teacher pay scale, but the scale is very similar for every district in a particular province. Alberta has the highest teacher salaries (according to Alberta Learning Statistics), and consequently has the highest ranking in education (according to Statistics Canada). The correlation is amazing:
| Province | Teacher Starting Salary | Teacher Max Salary | Reading Literacy |
| Prince Edward Island | $30,341 | $59,657 | 517 |
| Newfoundland | $34,838 | $60,212 | 517 |
| New Brunswick | $33,776 | $62,292 | 501 |
| Quebec | $36,196 | $63,527 | 536 |
| Manitoba | $37,948 | $65,310 | 529 |
| Saskatchewan | $38,700 | $66,103 | 529 |
| Nova Scotia | $35,906 | $67,978 | 521 |
| British Columbia | $37,908 | $70,684 | 538 |
| Ontario | $37,043 | $73,472 | 533 |
| Alberta | $43,653 | $74,126 | 550 |
Note: The similarity is the same when taking into account math and science scores, however, just to prove my point, I included only the literacy score.
Internationally it is hard to get comparing statistics, as there are other factors contributing to salaries / education performance.
I think it is safe to say that the more worthy teachers are perceived in the community (in terms of money, because that's how "worth" is really measured in our society), the better education the students get! Wow - so obvious, yet so eye-opening (to me).
Hope you liked the post. Please do me a favour ...
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Comments
Cause or effect?
on Wed, 06/20/2007 - 19:21
I don't think this gives us the whole picture, though. For example, if one area has a higher cost-of-living, the effective salary might still wind up being lower than another. Also, a location that pays teachers more may very well have a more affluent tax base, which brings in a whole other host of variables.
However, this is very interesting, and worth looking into.
You're right, I know how
on Wed, 06/20/2007 - 20:40
You're right, I know how easily statistics can be manipulated to prove a point. But I was just amazed how easily I could get the numbers to show what I thought was true. I am originally from Alberta, and never in my life did I think that Alberta had the best education of all of Canada. If I was to guess, I thought Ontario or Quebec were on top. But as I looked for the stats, and saw that they mostly corresponded with the salaries, I was amazed. Thanks for the "devil's advocate" comment, though. It was definitely needed to remind us that stats don't prove anything.
The higher wages, more people
on Fri, 07/22/2011 - 15:48
The higher wages, more people / more are drawn into work and in the long run, you get better teachers.
Higher teacher salary = better education
on Wed, 03/26/2008 - 00:21
These statistics made me laugh. Alberta has a competative system, so that's why it's outperforming the rest of Canada: when a parent can shop for a school, the schools then have to compete for children.
Everywhere in Canada, they need to bring in school choice, and bring back accountability. I can't believe that a profession can never be paid according to job performance! That's unheard of in any other profession.
I agree
on Tue, 08/09/2011 - 09:12
I completely agree higher the salary of the teacher better would be the education.I Firmly believe the teacher who are on the permanent payroll concentrate more on teaching the student rather than those who are temporary.Also,if the salary of the teacher are on the higher side then they wont think of doing part time jobs and hence they can give more attention toward the students.
I don't agree that salary
on Sat, 11/22/2008 - 17:05
I don't agree that salary reflects how "worthy" a teacher is or if the education is any better.
1) Cost of living varies throughout the country (notice how the maritimes have the lowest salary...salaries in the maritimes are lower and the cost of living is lower)
2) I've had many amazing teachers who make next to nothing and are "worth" much more than they make
3) I've had many lousy teachers who's teaching skills weren't "worth" what they made.
4)Money rarely has any corelation to "worth" when it comes to salaries.
A prime example is that a teacher may go to university for 5-7 years and work equally as hard and obtain a high GPA, wheras an Engineer may go to university for 4 years, obtain average to low marks and make almost double. Both jobs are needed for our society to move forward and both need education; however, one is paid more.
Another example: A university professor makes much more than an average high school teacher; however, high school teachers are much better at teaching (this may be because university professors are mainly there for research...but students are paying to be educated and they aren't necessarily getting what they've paid for).
Anyway, I'm rambling. My point is that you must take into account all variables before you can determine any corelation...a more accurate corelation would be price of living vs salary. Also, in most cases salary is NOT determined by "worth".
I agree completely. As I
on Sat, 11/22/2008 - 23:54
I agree completely. As I said in the post, I don't think I teach any differently depending on what I get paid. I think I'm a pretty decent teacher here in Quebec, but I wasn't any better in Alberta, where I made way more money.
The point is, that there is a certain attraction to new students going into a profession, deciding, among other factors, what is their salary going to be. If the salary is low for existing jobs, not many will choose the profession even if they would be fantastic teachers, and therefore our awesome profession is loosing great teachers to engineering or medicine or law.
I teach high school kids, and so many times the students come up to me and ask me "if a lawyer makes lots of money" or "if an astronaut makes good money". Money is an attraction in our world that we live in, therefore the salary of a teacher is in that way the "worth" that society puts on a profession.
I hate that I'm in a profession (being a teacher) that society thinks is not very "worthy". In fact, when I get a passport, I cannot ask a teacher to vouch for me - why not? Why is an engineer any more trustworthy?
Anyway, I agree that true worth can't be determined with salary. But unfortunately salary is the way society gives worth...
I must agree with your
on Thu, 10/21/2010 - 19:10
I must agree with your thoughts absolutely.
essay
I totally agree with the
on Tue, 03/08/2011 - 11:09
I totally agree with the point of view that if a teacher is paid well the quality of the education he or she provides is better. If one isn't paid well then there would not be much interest in the thing they are doing. Also on the other hand if one is contended with the money they are receiving for their services they will be contended and will surely be able to give in good quality.
business administration classes
Salary and Worth
on Mon, 11/24/2008 - 22:34
Salary is a reflection of your worth because that's how much someone is willing to pay for your services. One problem is that teaching is so aggregated and so lacking in standards that nobody really knows what they are paying for. I'm with you in that the good teachers are worth a ton, and the bad teachers are worthless.
Here are the problems:
1) Nobody flunks teacher school. Engineers at least are weeded down to a certain level of competence by the courses, but teachers can get by simply through putting in 4 years of time.
2) There are no standards, nothing you "have to know" to be a teacher.
3) Like all union professions nobody negotiates their own salary. A supremely competent person could get more money outside of teaching, where they could negotiate their ownh salary. That only serves to reduce the quality of teachers even more.
Misinformation
on Mon, 05/17/2010 - 01:46
You are seriously misinformed about the teaching profession.
1. Of course students flunk out of "teacher school" (it's not called that). It's just like any other degree program. In some schools you have to maintain a minimum of 70% in each course or you are kicked out. The courses are difficult and based on both theoretical and practical knowledge (similar to engineering courses and most university courses). Also, in most Canadian universities it's a 5 year degree for Primary Education and a 4 year degree (B.A. or B.Sc.) followed by a 1 year degree for Intermediate/Secondary Education. Education is a competitive program and admission in based on an applicant's past academic career, GPA, references, personal essays, and relevant work or volunteer experience. Simply put, teachers do not "get by" by attending university.
2. It's naive to say "there are no standards, nothing you 'have to know' to be a teacher". Canadian education degree programs have specific courses that are mandatory based on guidelines outlined by provincial or federal standards. You also have to obtain practical work experience during your degree program. These courses teach you how to teach, how to engage students, assess learning disabilities, use different teaching methods for different types of learning, etc. Of course there are standards and there are many things you "have to know" in order to be a teacher.
3. The union negotiates the salary of teachers but teachers have to agree to the amount and terms. There are options to making more money as a teacher: upgrading your education for instance, working during summer school, etc. This does not degrade the quality of teachers.
Yes, teachers are underpaid but most of us decided to become teachers regardless of the salary because we love to teach.
I think the problem is that
on Mon, 05/17/2010 - 05:01
I think the problem is that many of "us" decide not to become a teacher because we are so underpaid, and I am sure that if more of "us" would choose the teaching profession because we love it AND because we are paid properly, we would have a superior society.
1) Lots of people flunk
on Sun, 05/29/2011 - 11:45
1) Lots of people flunk teacher school. Usually they are asked to withdraw after their first practicum. They can try again, but from what I saw in my program it usually convinced people they wouldn't be good teachers and they moved on... probably to be paid more elsewhere....
2) There are standards and competencies all over the programs, updated constantly through courses and pro-d.
3) Doesn't make any sense. The quality of teachers is reduced because unions negotiate on behalf of some professionals and some people get more money outside of teaching? Very confusing. I think maybe you mean that smarter people will go elsewhere for more money?? This could be true in some cases, but most teachers are plenty clever enough and their jobs well, just like everyone else in every other profession...
Make a chart based on those
on Fri, 01/01/2010 - 05:58
Make a chart based on those scores. I think you will see that the scores don't correlate with teacher's salaries. They are all over the board! Low-same-lower-higher-lower-same-lower-higher-lower-higher.
Alberta has the highest pay rate and highest literacy rate. Those are the only two that match.
Scatter Plot
on Sat, 01/02/2010 - 20:10
I made a plot, and also checked the significance and Rsquared:
Everything points to significant results (p = .006), with 63% of the literacy rate corresponding to the salary of the teacher.
interesting finding. but
on Sat, 04/30/2011 - 07:42
interesting finding. but okay, the next thing is to do a simple control for student ability. it could be that smarter, more motivated students happen to also be in the provinces with higher-paid teachers.
essentially, as interesting as the finding is, it does not imply causality.
a better question might be, is there any sorting or relocations of teachers based on the noticeable change in salaries? if so, then you have a selection problem.
Don't jump to conclusions!
on Sat, 04/24/2010 - 01:49
"Wow - so obvious"
no, not really. First I'd like to ask what "units" your reading literacy rates is in... "517" doesn't mean anything to me.
In addition, you may want to consider the differences in lifestyles and other conditions that exist between the provinces. Alberta is oil country, Onterio is the centre of government, heavy industry and commerce, British columbia has world-class ports
Notice how it's the provinces that contribute the most to the country's GDP that also have the higher literacy rates. Hmmmmmm. Higher per capita earnings result in high standards of living. People living in areas with higher standards of living place more emphasis on education. Perhaps it's not actually the teachers making the difference so much as the economy and lifesyle and resources to support the public education system (by provincial governmental jurisdiction)
re
on Tue, 02/22/2011 - 13:00
Teacher retention is on the rise on part of higher wages and secondly, on part of more refined and effective mentoring programs. However, more qualifications are expected of future teachers as more is being invested in Vermont's education.
Hard to say...
on Sat, 03/26/2011 - 19:25
After reading all the comments on this post it is clear that many people are sorrily misinformed about how teaching works. Each province has their own standards for their teachers, in addition to the federal requirements. Passing "teacher school" is not as easy as some would like to believe. We go in, we learn how to teach, assess and work with students.
Nothing drives me nuts more than listening to people who think teachers are overpaid for what they do, simply because we get holidays off, snow days off and of course summers. People see that we get pay cheques all summer and assume we are being paid for nothing, when in reality we are being paid for work already done. In no other profession will you essentially be paid for the five hours of school, but still have anywhere from one to 5 hours of UNPAID work after school - lesson planning, grading assignments, supervision, and any extra-curricular activities.
I like to think that I am a good teacher. I teach my students, and strive to help them be successful in their schooling. I also teach in a private school, so I make less than those teachers outside the community in a public school. While it does make me mad that I am even more under-paid than other teachers in the province, like someone else noted, most of us do this not for the money, but for the love of teaching.
I realize people would love to see 100% of student passive everything for every teacher; making it easier to see a value for their dollars. However, that is not possible. Students come in all shapes and forms: hard working to hardly working, very smart to learning disabled, those with good home support to those who are practically raising themselves.
Sure people want to see more students succeeding, so do I. And for as much effort as I can put into teaching them, I cannot do the work for them, I cannot study for them, and I cannot force them to do anything they don't want to do. I started teaching only five years ago and it is becoming more and more difficult to keep students focused. These days we spend just as much time keeping students on task as we do teaching them.
As teachers,particularly in the high school, we have to put up with a lot more foolishness from students. It makes the job increasingly difficult when we have only 10 months to complete 12 months of work.
So,next time you think you think teachers are overpaid think again. I for instance, given my salary and the 5 school days and 25 hours per week, make about $55 / hr. This would be awesome except....
- Correcting, planning, test making, etc takes 2 - 5 hrs per day depending - That is 10 - 25 UNPAID hours per week. down to: $37 to $27 / hr
- Supervision - Get paid for class time, but still need to be at work 30 mins early, through lunch hour and 30 mins after school each day - 2 hrs unpaid each day. Down to: $28 to $20 / hr.
Any after school tutoring also cuts into this, bring the per hour rate down, since the pay cheque each week never goes up.
-------------------
In short, It may look like teachers are over paid. But in no other job can you get away with leaving staff unpaid for so many hours. Then people wonder why after a while teachers stop caring. We are over-worked in many schools and seriously underpaid.
Are you in it for the children or for your pocketbook!?
on Sat, 08/13/2011 - 08:07
This is directed at this whole forum and not at the writer of this blog...it seems to me you have your head on fairly straight when it comes to why you are a teacher in the first place but...
Correlation does NOT necessarily imply CAUSATION. Economic Principals 101.
Also, if teaching is such an 'underpaid' profession why are there line-ups to get into the faculty of Education?
I personally know at least 10 people who have gone into the profession in the last few years and have outright admitted that 'teaching provides the best money for a profession that also allows a family-friendly lifestyle'. Teachers in Alberta are set for a 5% wage increase in September while the rest of us suffer through the worst economic times in years...sound like a pretty amazing deal to me.
For those who harp on the amount of time you spend preppin outside the classroom, get over yourselves. Everyone successful works hard and if you think you're the only profession where you have to do 'work without pay' you're seriously mistaken. Ask the new Law graduates working from 6am to 10pm what that comes out to on a 'per hour' basis! If you think you're worth more than you are paid (and I agree some of you are), then you need to stop grumbling and lobby to change a unionized system that gives lazy teachers the same pay as the ones changing lives.
If you want an engineers salary...go back to school. You chose your path knowing full well it was a public sector position. There are definitely benefits to teaching beyond pay. No, you might never own a Ferrari but you'll be more than comfortable in life. If you can't have an above average lifestyle on the salaries you are already being paid then maybe the teachers need to go back to school to learn a little bit of Personal Finance!
Good subject
on Tue, 08/23/2011 - 05:38
I completely agree higher the salary of the teacher better would be the education.I Firmly believe the teacher who are on the permanent cheap handbag concentrate more on teaching the student rather than those who are temporary.Also,if the salary of the teacher are on the higher side then they wont think of doing part time jobs and hence they can give more attention toward the students. This post is useful and helpful. Most people will definitely assert that everything in your blog site is nice. If you maintain publishing educational content on your online site, often there is a higher opportunity that lots of visitors will go to your blog site.