Hawaii is the worst state to work as a teacher, according to the WalletHub website.
WalletHub evaluated teaching conditions in 50 states and the District of Columbia. The study focused on two main categories, “opportunity and competition” and “academic and work environment," and compiled scores on 22 different metrics, which were weighted based on their relative importance.
Job pressures, low pay and lack of mobility leads many teachers to quit soon after they start, the study says. Federal statistics show that about a fifth of all public-school teachers leave their positions before the end of their first year. Nearly half last fewer than five.
Among the metrics evaluated were average starting salary, 10-year change in salaries, average pension, tenure protections, enrollment growth, student-teacher ratio and average spending per student.
Hawaii ranked the lowest, with a score of 35.18 out of 100. It scored lowest on "opportunity and competition"—it has lowest salaries when adjusted for cost of living—and 42nd out of 51 in "academic and work environment."
Here are the 10 states (including the District of Columbia) that scored the lowest.
