Teacher salaries in fast-growing economies have not kept up with housing prices, and long commutes combine with rising rents to create economic anxiety that affects teachers. Teachers in San Francisco, for example, report greater economic anxiety than Americans more generally, even comparing them to a sample that includes many workers who did not complete a bachelor’s degree. This financial anxiety may also have consequences for students: the chronic absenteeism rate is nine percentage points higher for teachers who report that covering housing costs is very difficult. To learn more about how economic anxiety affects teachers and students, read Susanna Loeb’s full blog entry on EdNext.org (originally published as a part of Evidence Speaks).
—Education Next