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Wisconsin's average teacher salary is $2,636 below national average
From the NEA
The National Education Association published figures Wednesday (December 12, 2007) showing that investments in America’s public schools remain stagnant, as the average increase in teacher salary continued to trail behind the rate of inflation for 2005-06. No state has achieved adequate and equitable funding despite years of court cases and education reform proposals.
According to NEA’s publication, "Rankings and Estimates: Rankings of the States 2006 and Estimates of School Statistics 2007," the national average public schoolteacher salary for 2005-06 was $49,026. State average public schoolteacher salaries ranged from those in California ($59,825), Connecticut ($59,304) and the District of Columbia ($59,000) at the high end to South Dakota ($34,709), North Dakota ($37,764) and West Virginia ($38,284) at the low end.
Wisconsin's average public schoolteacher salary for 2005-06 was $46,390, which is $2,636 below the national average, ranking it 21st in the nation. Wisconsin average teacher salaries in 2005-06 were 94.6% of the national average, or 5.4% below the national average. After adjusting for inflation, the report noted, Wisconsin's average teacher salary declined 5.5% from 1995-96 to 2005-06 while the nationwide average increased 1.3%.
“Low teacher pay comes at a very high cost,” said NEA President Reg Weaver. “How can we expect educators to be focused, committed and at their best on a daily basis when they are fearful of the consequences of not earning enough to support their families? Each year we lose excellent teachers because they can’t afford to make ends meet. Low teacher pay shortchanges the teaching profession, and students end up paying the price.”
Weaver continued: “The values we place on education must match the investments if we’re going to attract highly qualified teachers or close student achievement gaps and reduce the high school dropout rate.”
"Rankings & Estimates" provides statistics to raise public understanding of key issues affecting teaching and learning conditions in the nation’s public schools. Other public education indicators, including school population and student-teacher ratio, can be found in the state-by-state report. Among the other highlights:
"Rankings and Estimates" has presented selected education statistics since the 1960s.
The complete report can be found at http://www.nea.org/edstats/images/07rankings.pdf
Wisconsin teacher average salaries |
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| Year | Rank | Wisconsin | U.S. | % of US avg. |
| 1988-89 | 14 |
$30,779 |
$29,570 |
104.1% |
| 1989-90 | 16 |
$31,921 |
$31,166 |
102.4% |
| 1990-91 | 15 |
$33,209 |
$33,041 |
100.5% |
| 1991-92 | 13 |
$35,074 |
$34,148 |
102.7% |
| 1992-93 | 15 |
$35,926 |
$35,000 |
102.6% |
| 1993-94 | 16 |
$35,990 |
$35,972 |
100.1% |
| 1994-95 | 16 |
$37,746 |
$36,605 |
103.1% |
| 1995-96 | 15 |
$38,182 |
$37,685 |
101.3% |
| 1996-97 | 15 |
$39,057 |
$38,611 |
101.2% |
| 1997-98 | 15 |
$39,357 |
$39,477 |
99.7% |
| 1998-99 | 16 |
$40,657 |
$40,582 |
100.2% |
| 1999-00 | 16 |
$41,153 |
$41,724 |
98.6% |
| 2000-01 | 21 |
$42,122 |
$43,339 |
97.2% |
| 2001-02 | 22 |
$42,232 |
$44,499 |
94.9% |
| 2002-03 | 21 |
$42,775 |
$45,810 |
93.3% |
| 2003-04 | 24 |
$42,882 |
$46,752 |
91.7% |
| 2004-05 | 25 |
$43,466 |
$47,750 |
91.0% |
| 2005-06 | 21 |
$46,390 |
$49,026 |
94.6% |
Source: NEA Rankings and Estimates |
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Posted December 12, 2007