Teaching and Learning

New reports from the two national teachers' unions suggest that educators have largely been left behind in the recent economic boom times, a trend they say threatens to exacerbate the problems many districts now face in filling teaching positions.

According to the National Education Association's recent "Rankings and Estimates" report, the nationwide average salary for instructional staff members rose 3 percent in the 1999-2000 school year. During the same period, the group says, total personal income in the country jumped 5.9 percent.

The long-term picture painted by the document doesn't look any better. Measured in constant dollars, average teacher salaries grew by less than 1 percent...