Who Taught the Teachers · Episode 12 of 12 · 12 min
Repricing the Job
Twelfth-grade math scores are the lowest since that assessment began in 2005, and reading the lowest since 1992. The subsidy that staffed classrooms for 150 years is gone, so the finale asks what honest staffing would take. It weighs whether teachers caused the drop, looks at Finland, Singapore, and South Korea, tests repricing and career ladders, and considers AI from the teacher's side.
Who's who
- Sylvia Allegretto+1 more episodeEconomist who documented the record 26.9% teacher pay penalty
- Lesley MuldoonExecutive director of the National Assessment Governing Board
- Michelle Rhee+1 more episodeD.C. chancellor who launched the IMPACT evaluation and pay system
- Thomas DeeEconomist who found IMPACT's incentives improved performance and retention
- James WyckoffEconomist who found IMPACT's incentives improved performance and retention
- Frederica WilsonFlorida congresswoman behind the American Teacher Act
Where it happens
- Finland+5 more episodesMaster's-level teacher education with many applicants per seat
- Singapore+1 more episodeRecruits teachers from the top of the academic cohort
- South Korea+2 more episodesSelective entry and professional pay for teachers
- Washington, D.C.+31 more episodesHome of the IMPACT experiment
Timeline
- 2009D.C. launches IMPACT with bonuses up to $25,000
- 2010McKinsey report contrasts U.S. teacher recruitment with top-performing countries
- March 2020COVID-19 closes schools; absenteeism roughly doubles
- November 2022ChatGPT released; most core-subject teachers later report using AI
- September 9, 2025NAEP twelfth-grade math lowest since 2005, reading lowest since 1992
- September 24, 2025Report puts the 2024 teacher pay penalty at a record 26.9%
Still debated
The precise size of the teacher pay penalty is contested, though the long trend is robust. The role of phones in score drops is correlational, and evidence on AI's time savings and deskilling risks is thin.