America’s underpaid-teacher problem, in one chart

We just want to be treated like the French.
We just want to be treated like the French.
Image: AP/Sitthixay Ditthavong
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Every year, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) releases a data-packed report (pdf) on the state of education in its 35 member countries. The 2016 edition contains a salary comparison for high-school teachers versus other full-time workers in that country with similar educational attainment. The data was only available for 13 of the member countries.

While teachers in France and New Zealand earn, on average, more than their peers, American teachers make only 61% of what similarly educated non-teachers make in the US. Is it any wonder that America’s education system has trouble attracting and keeping top talent?