How to Make Millionaire Teachers
The very best teacher in America makes about the same salary and teaches about the same number of students as the very worst teacher. This is because we treat educators like interchangeable widgets rather than uniquely talented professionals. While a doctor might choose to work within a large hospital or start an independent practice, teachers have few similar opportunities to customize their career paths. It’s time for that to change. The answer is to expand opportunities for students, including those in traditional public schools, while allowing the very best and brightest teachers to reach more students–and get rich if they succeed.
Teacher salaries have not budged since the 1960s after controlling for inflation. Many incorrectly attribute this to “education spending cuts,” but the truth is that inflation-adjusted, per-student spending has actually increased more than 300%. In the 1960s, it took about 13 students to pay one classroom teacher’s salary. Today, it only takes about four students. Where has all the money gone? Mostly to more non-teaching staff and administrators, smaller class sizes, and more expensive benefits. None of this has helped improve student outcomes. As with teacher salaries, student test scores have basically remained flat over this period.
Utah and a handful of other states allow public, charter, private, and homeschooled students to take courses from providers other than the school they attend full-time. Students, at no cost to their families, may enroll in advanced placement courses, career-focused learning, or simply a course that works better for them than the default. This is a form of educational choice, but it does not require students to switch schools. New Hampshire has a slightly different model that allows students to earn high school credit for learning that takes place outside of school.