Over the course of our nation’s history, the structure of teacher compensation has varied and changed to fit the needs of the time. The current pay structure, introduced over 85 years ago, was designed for another era. If policymakers are serious about improving the quality of teachers in the classroom, they need to tie teacher pay to teacher quality.
K-12 Education
Study: K-12 Grade Inflation Making American Kids Dumber, Costing Them Millions
When teachers inflate grades — giving higher marks than students’ actual performance warrants — the effects ripple far beyond the classroom. Increasingly widespread high school grade inflation can cost students more than $200,000 in lost earning potential per teacher per year, finds a groundbreaking new study. Authored by Jeffrey T. Denning, Rachel Nesbit, Nolan Pope,...
March 23, 2026