Michigan Advance, 5/14

Report: Michigan teacher salaries still lag those of college-educated peers

By Derek Robertson

A new study by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) shows Michigan's teachers are just below the national average in terms of their weekly "wage penalty," or the amount by which their salary lags other college-educated workers. The EPI found in its report that the penalty in question has risen steadily since the mid-1990s for both men and women in the teaching workforce. Michigan's teachers make 19.5 percent less than their college-educated peers, while the national average is 19.8 percent. Wayne State University professor Mike Addonizio, a former assistant state superintendent for research and policy for the Michigan Department of Education (MDE), wrote in an April column for the Advance: "In 39 states, the average teacher salary declined between 2010 and 2016 when you take inflation into account," emphasizing that the pay gap can lead to underqualified teachers in classrooms and an attendant decline in student performance. According to the MDE, the most recently reported average teacher salary in Michigan was $61,908 annually for the 2017-18 school year.