Breaking out teacher compensation into its component parts, WISTAX found a difference in how Wisconsin compares with the rest of the U.S. on salaries and benefits. The average salary for a Wisconsin teacher was $41,056 in 2002, or 7.5% below the national average. In 1993, Badger State salaries were 3.9% above the national norm.

On the other hand, WISTAX researchers noted that U.S. Census Bureau figures for 1999-2000 show Wisconsin school districts paid more than 35¢ in benefits for every dollar of instructional salaries. That was the fifth-highest rate nationally. In 2001-02, Wisconsin school districts paid an average of 96.9% of the premium for single health insurance coverage and 95.5% for family coverage, and virtually all of the cost of retirement benefits.

The new report examines Wisconsin teacher pay and benefits from several perspectives, including a section that explains how teacher salary schedules work. WISTAX is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to public-policy research and citizen education.

In addition to looking at averages, WISTAX researchers also examined salary and benefit increases from 1999-2000 through 2002-03 for more than 26,800 Wisconsin teachers. Not all teachers could be included in the analysis because: some teachers received pay for coaching, supervising other extracurricular activities, administrative duties or other work that could not be separated from the salary for teaching; some worked part-time during part or all of the period studied; and some changed districts during the period.

The WISTAX analysis found that nearly 30% of these Wisconsin teachers experienced average annual salary increases of more than 5% per year over the period. Another 28% received salary increases between 3% and 5% annually. Just over one-quarter had average salary increases under 2% per year.

These increases are in line with expectations given the structure of teacher salary schedules. In Wisconsin, like many other states, a teacher’s salary depends not only on increases given by a school board, but also on education level and experience. If the salary schedule were to remain unchanged from year to year, teachers would still receive raises for additional years of experience and for obtaining additional education. However, the schedules are typically "shifted up" annually, providing additional increases.

The study provides several examples of individual increases using salary schedules based on state averages:

• Additional bachelor’s credits: If a teacher accumulated enough credits to get to 12 higher-education credits beyond a bachelor’s before the following year, average pay would climb approximately 7.5%. Part of the increase is due to the additional education credits and part to another year of experience.

• Master’s degree: Upon getting a master’s degree, a teacher would receive a pay increase the following year of approximately 10%.

• "Maxed out": A teacher who was at the top of the pay scale, or was at the maximum for a given level of education, received the smallest raise. In this case, the increase was less than 1%.

The study also compared salaries of teachers to others in "similar" occupations. WISTAX researchers used a comprehensive U.S. Department of Labor database to help identify occupations with required skills most similar to teachers. The median salaries of ten occupations rated most similar were then compared to median salaries for teachers. Pay for teachers here was in the middle, lower than salaries for such occupations as securities sales agents, sales managers and occupational therapists, but higher than training specialists, mental health and substance abuse counselors, and computer support specialists. The study also noted that benefits for teachers were typically higher than for workers in these "similar" occupations.

While Wisconsin continues to pay teachers based almost exclusively on education and experience, several states and school districts are using innovative compensation plans that account for performance and area of expertise. A school district in Colorado has had a performance-based plan since 1994, and has found it effective. Under this plan, a teacher’s pay depends on ratings on an annual evaluation. Iowa implemented a statewide performance-based plan in 2001 that combines comprehensive reviews of individual teachers with bonuses for student achievement and school improvement.

Iowa also created a plan to alleviate teacher shortages in certain subjects. New teachers can have up to $9,000 in student loans forgiven if they teach in designated shortage areas, such as math, science and industrial technology.