Comparing Educational Data Across State Lines Case Study

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Using Data to Make Educated Decisions:

Comparing Educational Data Across State Lines

Unlike many other industrialized nations, the educational system of the United States exists in a relatively piecemeal form. There is a great deal of variation not simply between states in terms of teachers’ salaries and student test scores but also in terms of conditions which make it even more challenging to compare such datasets. This can be extremely challenging in the modern era, where evidence-based research and statistics are often used to make major educational decisions. Since the passage of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), statistical benchmarks have been used to compare school districts, despite the admitted challenges of doing so; teachers themselves may attempt to compare datasets when deciding the best area of the nation to pursue certification and to teach.

For example, in regards to teachers’ salaries, cost of living can be difficult to compare from state to state. As noted by Iasevoli (2017), the states that pay teachers the highest salaries usually also have the highest costs of living. While the fact that the average teacher salary in California is $72,050, this amount is actually below the amount needed to “live comfortably,” and according to the state’s Department of Education, the starting salary for a teacher is around $40,000 per year (Iasevoli, 2017, par.3). In short, it may be many years for a debt-ridden young teacher to have the financial means to pay off high student loans working at considerably below what he or she would need to earn to have a middle-class lifestyle of a college-educated professional.

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And the highest salary to which he or she could aspire was not very high at all, considering that teachers cannot expect to earn beyond a certain threshold, regardless of any increases in the cost of living.

Many states, such as Oklahoma and Arizona, often attempt to use salary increases as a way to improve overall student performance. In states with teacher shortages, it is hoped that higher salaries will lure more competent professionals. States with higher teacher salaries often do have students that boast higher standardized test performance and perform better on markets of student performance. But once again, this is an example of how comparative data can lie. Such states often have higher standards of living and tend to contain more professional families that prioritize education, such as New York State. Also, while states that place a higher priority on education may happen to have higher salaries, this may be due to correlative rather than causal factors.

A final factor to keep in mind is that some states may also use high teacher salaries to lure teachers to potentially undesirable areas. For example, the state of Alaska pays its teachers a very high salary. But this is because few people are willing to endure the harsh conditions of that….....

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