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I would also look at the practice, big in the 90s, of compacting steps on teacher pay scales. When I started, there were 35 steps on the district pay scale; that was whittled down to around 14. The idea was to improve career earnings for teachers, but it also made districts reluctant to create larger steps in the salary ladder, effectively freezing the distance between bottom and top steps.

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Thank you for this, Chad. As always appreciate your willingness to dig into nuance here. On the 20+ years of experience side of things, I wonder how much of that is driven by salary schedules in some states capping growth beyond a certain number of years. For example, in Georgia, once a teacher reaches 21 years, there are no more years of experience gains in the state schedule that drives the funding formula (most districts have flexibility to pay more if they want but the state formula pays the same regardless). In North Carolina, it’s 15 years. By that time, teachers may not have more degrees or certifications to gain to continue getting increases, so their salary stays flat (and negative in real terms). I’m not sure how common this is in other states but thought I’d mention here. Thanks again!

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Thanks Sam. My sense is that more places--states and districts--have gone to this style of approach by shrinking the number of steps on their salary schedules. I'm already thinking of a follow-up piece on the pros and cons of that approach, so more to come soon!

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