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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 8, 2002

News Release

U.S. Teachers' Salaries Fall Below Economic Trends

NEA Report Shows Teacher Salaries Not Keeping Pace With Education Investments

Washington, D.C. - America's teachers did not reap the rewards of increased investment in public education during the 1990s, according to a report released today by the National Education Association (NEA), the nation's largest professional employee organization. To read the full report, visit http://www.nea.org/edstats/images/02rankings.pdf.

Teachers' salaries increased by 3 percent during the decade spanning from 1991-2001 when adjusted for inflation. This increase works out to an average annual rate of 0.3 percent a year, according to NEA's report Rankings and Estimates 2000-2001. During this same period, school revenue receipts, total expenditures, and per-pupil expenditures increased significantly.

"As more money was invested in public education, teacher salaries remained stagnant - all while the U.S. was in a time of economic expansion," NEA President Bob Chase said. "If we, as a nation, are serious about student achievement, we need to make sure we can attract and retain high-quality teachers. Nothing has a more profound effect on a child's achievement than the quality of his or her teacher, and it's hard to convince someone to stay in the classroom when the salary is so low."

Other facts in Rankings and Estimates:

• The average salary of a U.S. public school teacher for the school year 2000-01 was $43,335 - with more than 30 states below the average. The highest ranking states in teacher pay were New Jersey, Connecticut, and California. The lowest were Mississippi, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
• The average per-pupil expenditure for the 2000-01 school year was $7,161 with 29 states below the average. The highest ranking states were the District of Columbia, New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey. The lowest were Arizona, Utah, and North Dakota.

The information in this report was provided by state education agencies and analyzed by NEA researchers. Since the 1960s, Rankings has presented facts and figures useful in determining how states differ from each other - or from national averages - on selected statistics.

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The National Education Association is the nation’s largest professional employee organization, representing 2.7 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators, and students preparing to become teachers.