Commentary

You might be surprised which states prioritize higher teacher salaries

It’s one of the great conundrums of American public education: Even when calculated in constant dollars, and even after the Great Recession, we spend dramatically more per pupil than in decades past, yet teacher salaries have barely kept pace with inflation. Where is the money going? And how much could we pay teachers if we had prioritized higher salaries instead? This new analysis compares average teacher salaries to average per-pupil spending—by state, and over time, all in inflation-adjusted dollars. The results aren’t what you’d expect.