In this report, researchers use the 2024 State of the American Teacher survey to explore factors that could relate to teachers' persistently negative perceptions of their pay between the 2022–2023 and 2023–2024 school years. Researchers examine how teachers' pay increases, benefits, and major household expenses are related to their intentions to leave and compare teachers' survey responses with those of similar working adults.

Larger Pay Increases and Adequate Benefits Could Improve Teacher Retention

Findings from the 2024 State of the American Teacher Survey

Elizabeth D. Steiner, Ashley Woo, Sy Doan

ResearchPublished Nov 20, 2024

Few kindergarten through grade 12 public school teachers—only one out of every three—think that their pay is adequate. Low pay is a top reason teachers consider leaving their job and is a top source of job-related stress for one in three teachers. According to national surveys, teachers’ perceptions of pay adequacy have not changed—or have worsened—from January 2023 to January 2024. Black teachers were especially likely to say that their base pay is inadequate and that it is a key reason they are considering leaving their job.

In this report, researchers use the 2024 State of the American Teacher survey to explore a set of factors that could relate to teachers' persistently negative perceptions of their pay between the 2022–2023 and 2023–2024 school years. Researchers examine how teachers' pay increases, benefits, and major household expenses were related to their intentions to leave and compare teachers' survey responses with those of similar working adults. They focus their discussion on Black teachers because of the worrying changes in these teachers' perceptions of their pay and the negative consequences of their attrition on students.

Key Findings

  • At least two-thirds of teachers reported receiving a pay increase between the 2022–2023 and 2023–2024 school years, but the amounts were small—$2,000 on average—compared with a desired salary increase of $16,000.
  • Teachers who received larger pay increases were more likely to say that their base pay in the 2023–2024 school year was adequate and were less likely to intend to leave the profession even after accounting for base pay. Black teachers earned lower salaries than other teachers and also reported the smallest pay increases.
  • One in four teachers nationally were not paid for the extra work that they performed for their school or school system. Black teachers were more likely than White teachers to report that they performed extra work for no pay.
  • Teachers in single-earner households spent larger shares of their household incomes on housing, child care, and student debt payments than did similar working adults in single-earner households.
  • Employer-provided benefits that could help teachers pay for these household expenses were uncommon, and teachers held less favorable views of their benefits than did similar working adults.
  • Larger pay increases, providing benefits that mitigate major household expenses, and improving the quality of benefits could improve teacher retention.

Recommendations

  • School systems should develop strategies to ensure equitable distribution of pay for extra work. Leaders could create policies for how paid extra work is allocated, such as posting the opportunities and awarding them according to clear, predetermined criteria.
  • Education leaders and policymakers should increase teachers' access to and quality of benefits, particularly paid parental leave. Benefits that target housing and tuition could be especially beneficial for Black teachers. For example, state leaders could set minimum expectations for teachers' benefits, just as they set minimum salary requirements.
  • School systems should enhance pay transparency by making detailed, disaggregated information about pay and benefits easily available to teacher jobseekers. Districts and states should report a variety of information about different aspects of pay by teacher and school characteristics for teachers at different points in their career who are at different points in the salary schedule.

Topics

Document Details

  • Copyright: National Education Association
  • Publisher: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Web-Only
  • Year: 2024
  • Pages: 28
  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.7249/RRA1108-13
  • Document Number: RR-A1108-13

Citation

RAND Style Manual

Steiner, Elizabeth D., Ashley Woo, and Sy Doan, Larger Pay Increases and Adequate Benefits Could Improve Teacher Retention: Findings from the 2024 State of the American Teacher Survey, RAND Corporation, RR-A1108-13, 2024. As of April 30, 2025: https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA1108-13.html

Chicago Manual of Style

Steiner, Elizabeth D., Ashley Woo, and Sy Doan, Larger Pay Increases and Adequate Benefits Could Improve Teacher Retention: Findings from the 2024 State of the American Teacher Survey. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2024. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA1108-13.html.
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This study was funded by the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers and conducted by RAND Education and Labor.

This publication is part of the RAND research report series. Research reports present research findings and objective analysis that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors. All RAND research reports undergo rigorous peer review to ensure high standards for research quality and objectivity.

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