Schools
Florida Fails Teachers: Study
When it comes to great teaching environments and opportunities for educators, Florida falls flat compared to other states, a new study says.
TAMPA, FL — Florida may have sunshine, beaches and theme parks, but it’s not the best place in the country to launch a teaching career. That’s according to a recently released study that ranked the Sunshine State the fifth worst in the nation for educators.
The analysis that concluded Florida has one of the most dismal teaching environments was conducted by the personal finance website WalletHub. To create the rankings, the site’s number crunchers compared all 50 states and the District of Columbia based on 21 metrics, including average starting salaries, school system quality and student-teacher ratios. (For more local news from Florida, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Tampa Patch. Click here to find your local Florida Patch. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)
The study was kicked off in honor of World Teachers’ Day, which falls on Oct. 5, and to “help educators find the best opportunities and teaching environments in the U.S.,” WalletHub spokeswoman Diana Popa said.
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When the scores were tallied, New York shot to the head of the class. New Jersey, Illinois, Connecticut and Pennsylvania ranked in second to fifth place, respectively. Florida’s 47th-place positioning was followed by Mississippi, South Carolina, Hawaii and Arizona in 48th through 51st places, respectively.
Data for the analysis was pulled from such sources as the National Center for Education Statistics, the National Education Association and the U.S. Census Bureau. More information about the methodology used to create the rankings can be found on WalletHub.
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Florida’s poor performance resulted from low scores in several metrics included in the study, such as:
- Average starting salary (adjusted for cost of living) – 22nd place
- Pupil-teacher radio – 28th place
- Teachers’ income growth potential – 32nd place
- Public School spending per student – 37th place
- Average annual salary for teachers (adjust for cost of living) – 41st place
Check out the full study on WalletHub.
Image via Shutterstock
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