The Commission invites you to return regularly to this site as new material is posted for comment. High school teacher Mike Truitt made a job change 18 months ago that doubled his salary and halved his workweek. Unfortunately for districts trying to recruit teachers, Mr. Truitt's decision is becoming more common as teaching loses out to the booming high-tech industry. In some regions of the country, teachers are leaving for better-paying, less stressful jobs in the private sector. In others, such as the Boston area, districts are finding they can't compete in the first place for people with backgrounds in mathematics, science, and computers.
Money is a primary reason.
By the time teachers have gained experience, the salary gap with other fields is even wider, the survey found. About one in five teachers leaves the profession within three years of entering the classroom, and those who leave are likelier to have entered college with higher test scores than those who keep teaching, according to a new analysis of federal survey data by Education Week. Working conditions, student misbehavior, and relatively low salaries were the most common reasons that teachers left. Despite the shortages, the gap between teacher salaries and those of other professionals has been growing, according to the study. About half of teachers have master's degrees.