North Carolina Teacher Pay

Quality of education in North Carolina is greatly affected by teacher pay. This problem is becoming ever more prevalent in today’s society as it is decreasing every year. The decrease in student performance and an overall good educational environment can be directly attributed to teacher salary. North Carolina ranks among the worst states for teacher pay and coming from a person whose parent is a teacher I have my personal experiences with this issue, it needs to be resolved.

As I said in the introductory paragraph, North Carolina ranks among the worst in the United States: “North Carolina ranks 50th in the nation for teacher pay” (Bernardo). This can lead to a multitude of issues. Lower teacher pay affects the availability of higher quality

This fact supports the my earlier statements regarding the availability of high quality teachers. Not only that but, the fact that in order for students to receive the best possible education, the teachers are the either the root of the problem or the solution: “North Carolina ranks 34th in academic and work environment quality” (Bernardo). Higher teacher pay means a higher teacher population which, in turn, increases the availability of teachers with better qualifications. This is outlined in the many plans proposed on how to govern teacher pay and its increases: “Knowledge and skills based pay-Teachers earn permanent increased for acquiring new skills and applying those skills”

Student performance includes overall standardized test scores and an average gpa. It essentially determines the overall quality and level of education in a state: “In this definition, the problem is poor overall performance, either nationally or statewide, against a set of standards” (Gratz). North Carolina’s student performance is relatively low when compared to rest of the U.S. due to low teacher pay: “From this and other data, they conclude that a 10 percent increase in teachers’ pay would produce a 5-10 percent increase in student performance” (Walker). It is because in order to retain success in the classroom, teachers need to be fully qualified, prepared, and successful to be able to provide student with the necessary education they deserve: “Most people think of learning in core subject as the main function of schools, and because it is easier to measure, we tend to use narrow academic assessments to judge school effectiveness. But such a formulation denies the complexity of the human experiences and ignores the clear truth that students, parents, and society want more from their schools that a narrow band of facts” (Gratz). To find and keep teachers who meet these adjectives you must raise teacher pay, otherwise they will move to higher paying