In this dashboard, we use payroll data provided by charter and school districts. If a school
marked an employee as being a teacher
either by a standarized accounting code or by their job title description,
then we would include them in this dashboard as a teacher. Some schools have poor data quality,
and marked certain employees as both a teacher and administator (or other roles).
Employees in this dashboard with multiple roles were given a category of "Multiple Roles."
Some users have expressed concern over why the 'statewide average Teacher pay' in this dashboard is different than 'the
statewide average Teacher pay' in the other
Teacher Pay
dashboard.
The discrepancy arises primarily from variations in dashboard
scope and the distinct methodologies employed to classify
employees as "teachers."
An average calculation relies on dividing a total sum
(e.g., total compensation of all teachers) by the count of
individuals comprising that sum (e.g., number of employees
designated as teachers). Consequently, any variation in
how "total" compensation or the "number of employees"
designated as "teachers" is defined will inherently
lead to a different average.
This dashboard contains other education related job types/roles.
Since some employees have multiple roles and duties, this changes
the number of employees that might count as "teacher", so the
average is calculated differently since both "total" and
"number of employees" are different.
ie: average = (total)/(number of employees).
Here's a breakdown of the specific reasons for these differences:
Administrator & Teacher Pay Analysis Dashboard (This Dashboard):
- This dashboard adopts a more comprehensive scope, encompassing a
wider array of education-related job roles beyond traditional
classroom instructors.
- For inclusion in this dashboard, an employee is categorized as
a "teacher" if their official job title description or a
standardized accounting code identifies them as such.
This approach includes individuals who may have teaching
responsibilities alongside other administrative or support
duties (e.g., instructional coaches, department heads,
or even some administrators who also are listed only as teachers
in reported data).
- As a result, the average presented in this dashboard is derived
from a broader population of educational personnel that are marked
as teachers, but did not necessarily teach a course.
- Note: If a single employee had mixed roles in their data, then they
were assigned the "multiple roles" category
Teacher Pay Dashboard (The Other Dashboard):
- Conversely, the "Teacher Pay" dashboard employs a more restrictive definition of a "teacher."
- It exclusively includes employees whose records could be directly matched to a specific course taught during the academic year. This approach specifically focuses on those primarily engaged in direct classroom instruction.
- This methodology yields an average calculated from a narrower, more precisely defined cohort of active classroom educators.
Summary:
Because each dashboard uses a different set of rules for who is included in the "teacher" count, the resulting average pay will naturally be different. Both numbers are correct; they just represent the average pay for different groups of employees. Future improvements in the underlying data detail/quality of submissions by schools would also make these two dashboards match.