State Teacher Policy Database Homepage › North Carolina › Policy Priority: Teacher Compensation

Pay for Prior Work Experience

Learn more about how North Carolina is performing on Pay for Prior Work Experience in the Teacher Compensation policy area.
Go to a policy lever Differentiated Pay for Hard-to-Staff Schools and Subjects Performance Pay Pay for Prior Work Experience
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North Carolina's Performance

Ungraded
NCTQ evaluates whether states are effectively using this policy lever by examining whether they direct districts to adjust starting salaries for new teachers with relevant work experience. Explore the key actions below to learn more about how North Carolina is implementing Pay for Prior Work Experience policies.

Why does this matter?

More often than not, average teacher salaries do not match the salaries of professionals with similar education in the same area, especially starting salaries.1 This makes attracting career-switchers to the field of education extremely challenging.

Why does North Carolina stand out?

North Carolina directs districts to make adjustments in starting salary for new teachers who have relevant work experience. 

North Carolina teachers are awarded one year of credit, for salary purposes, for every two years of “full-time relevant non-teaching work experience” prior to earning a bachelor’s degree and one year of experience credit for every year of “full-time relevant non-teaching experience” after earning a bachelor’s degree. “Relevant non-teaching work experience” is defined as professional work experience in public or private sectors that is directly related to the individual’s area of licensure and work assignment.

What are the key actions North Carolina
should take?

    • See what these exemplars are doing in this policy area:

    Indiana
    Louisiana

    Key Resources

    State of the States 2022: Teacher Compensation Strategies

    Explore NCTQ’s detailed state analysis of teacher compensation strategies.

    Explore resource

    Smart Money 2.0

    Uncover teachers' salaries across 90 districts nationwide, learn about strategies to increase pay, and discover missed opportunities for raising compensation and improving outcomes.

    Explore resource

    More than just words: 7 Approaches to monitoring the implementation of reading laws

    Dive into how states are turning policy into practice.

    Explore resource

    What are the long term effects of teacher performance pay on student outcomes?

    Read more about the research behind teacher performance pay.

    Explore resource
    References
    1. Saenz-Armstrong, P. (2021); Baker, B. D., Di Carlo, M., & Weber, M. (2019). School finance and teacher pay competitiveness. Albert Shanker Institute and Rutgers Graduate School of Education.
    2. Brobst, J., Markworth, K., Tasker, T., & Ohana, C. (2017). Comparing the preparedness, content knowledge, and instructional quality of elementary science specialists and self‐contained teachers. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 54(10), 1302-1321. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21406.
    3. Hynes, M. M. (2012). Middle-school teachers’ understanding and teaching of the engineering design process: a look at subject matter and pedagogical content knowledge. International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 22(3), 345-360. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10798-010-9142-4.