Statistical Analysis of Core Classroom Teacher Salaries

ED-2 through ED-4 Positions

FY25 4th Quarter Data

Prepared by: Sanjay Sharma, PhD, Vice-President, Guam Federation of Teachers, AFT Local 1581
Date: February 20, 2026
Data Source: Government of Guam FY25 4th Quarter Teacher Pay Schedule

Executive Summary

This study examines the actual compensation of core classroom teachers in pay grades ED-2 through ED-4 based on the Government of Guam’s FY25 4th quarter salary data. These three pay grades represent the primary teaching workforce in Guam’s public schools and constitute 1,325 educators, or the majority of classroom teaching positions across elementary and secondary education.

Key Finding: The average annual salary for ED-2 through ED-4 teachers is $61,465, which is approximately 85% of the national average teacher salary of $72,030, representing a shortfall of $10,565 per teacher per year.

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Methodology and Scope Definition

Positions Included: ED-2, ED-3, and ED-4

Following the position classifications established in the 2022 Educator Pay Plan (EDUPP) Implementation Guidelines, this analysis focuses exclusively on ED-2 (Teacher II), ED-3 (Teacher III), and ED-4 (Teacher IV) positions. These three grades constitute the core classroom teaching workforce and represent the standard progression for fully licensed, regularly appointed teachers in Guam’s public schools.

Rationale for Excluding ED-1 Positions

The 2022 EDUPP Implementation Guidelines identify ED-1 positions (ED-1A, ED-1B, ED-1C, and ED-1D) as including:

• Teacher I positions (ED-1A through ED-1D): Entry-level or provisionally licensed positions
• Head Start Teachers (ED-1A designation): Specialized early childhood educators serving in federally funded Head Start programs with different qualification requirements than K-12 classroom teachers
• Probationary and limited-term appointments: Positions that may not reflect permanent, fully licensed status

These positions serve important roles but do not represent the core, fully credentialed classroom teaching workforce. Including them would dilute the analysis and misrepresent the compensation profile of standard, permanently appointed teachers who form the backbone of instructional continuity in Guam’s K-12 schools.

Rationale for Excluding ED-5 and ED-6 Positions

The 2022 EDUPP Implementation Guidelines designate ED-5 (Teacher V) and ED-6 (Teacher VI) as senior or specialized teaching positions that:

• Reflect advanced credentials, specialized certifications, or additional responsibilities beyond standard classroom instruction
• Represent a smaller proportion of the total teaching workforce
• Often function in resource teacher, specialist, or senior mentor capacities rather than typical classroom assignments

Including ED-5 and ED-6 in an analysis of “average teacher pay” would artificially inflate the baseline and obscure the reality experienced by the vast majority of classroom teachers who fall within the ED-2 to ED-4 range.

Population Summary

The FY25 4th quarter data include 1,325 teachers in ED-2 through ED-4 positions, distributed as follows:

• ED-2: 374 teachers (28.2% of the ED-2–ED-4 population)
• ED-3: 299 teachers (22.6% of the ED-2–ED-4 population)
• ED-4: 652 teachers (49.2% of the ED-2–ED-4 population)

This distribution reflects the typical career progression in which teachers advance through licensure levels and accumulate years of service, with a concentration in the ED-4 band representing experienced, mid- to late-career classroom educators.

Statistical Findings

Overall ED-2 to ED-4 Population

ED-2 (Teacher II)

ED-2 positions represent early-career, fully licensed teachers, typically within their first 5-7 years of service.

Interpretation: ED-2 teachers cluster in the early steps, with an average around Step 6 and a median at Step 5. The mode at Step 1 reflects ongoing new hiring or recent transitions into this grade. The distribution shows relatively low variability (standard deviation of $7,380), consistent with a narrower range for early-career educators.

ED-3 (Teacher III)

ED-3 positions represent mid-career teachers with established classroom experience and continued professional development.

Interpretation: ED-3 teachers are more advanced in their careers, with an average step around 12 and a median at Step 14. The mode at Step 15 suggests a concentration of teachers who have reached upper steps within this grade. The standard deviation ($10,087) is higher than ED-2, reflecting greater spread across the step progression. The median salary exceeds the mean, indicating a left-skewed distribution with more teachers at higher steps.

ED-4 (Teacher IV)

ED-4 positions represent experienced, senior classroom teachers with significant tenure, advanced professional standing and a Master’s degree.

Interpretation: ED-4 is the largest cohort (652 teachers, nearly half of the ED-2–ED-4 population) and reflects experienced educators at mid-to-upper career stages. The average and median steps cluster around Step 11, with a mode at Step 9 ($65,880). The wider IQR ($14,660) reflects substantial variability as teachers progress from early ED-4 steps through the top of the scale. The mean salary slightly exceeds the median, indicating a modest right skew with some teachers at the highest steps earning significantly more.

Central Tendency

The combined mean of $61,465 represents the arithmetic average and is slightly lower than the median of $63,227, indicating a modest left skew in the overall distribution. This suggests that there are proportionally more teachers clustered in the higher salary steps, with a tail of lower-paid teachers (particularly new ED-2 hires) pulling the mean down.

The mode of $65,880 (ED-4 Step 9) represents the single most common salary value across all three grades and reflects a concentration point for mid-career ED-4 teachers.

Variability

The standard deviation of $11,995 indicates considerable spread around the mean, which is expected given the inclusion of three distinct pay grades with 18 steps each. This variability reflects:

• Career progression from early ED-2 to senior ED-4 positions
• Step advancement within each grade
• New hires entering at Step 1 versus experienced teachers at upper steps

The interquartile range (IQR) of $18,552 shows that the middle 50% of teachers earn between approximately $51,575 (Q1) and $70,127 (Q3), a span of nearly $19,000. This relatively wide range underscores the substantial pay differentiation based on grade and step progression.

Step Progression

The average step of 9.96 (essentially Step 10) across all ED-2–ED-4 teachers indicates that the typical teacher in this population is approximately halfway through the 18-step progression. This aligns with expectations for a workforce that includes a mix of early-career, mid-career, and senior teachers, with the largest cohort (ED-4) concentrated around Step 11.

Comparison to National Benchmarks

National Average Teacher Salary

According to the National Education Association (NEA) Rankings and Estimates report for the 2023–24 school year, the average public K–12 teacher salary in the United States is $72,030.

Guam’s Position Relative to the Nation

Key Finding: Guam’s core classroom teachers earn approximately 85 cents for every dollar earned by the average U.S. public school teacher. This represents a shortfall of $10,565 per teacher per year, or roughly 15% below the national average.

Implications

This pay gap has significant consequences for:

• Recruitment: Guam competes with mainland school districts offering $10,000–$20,000 more per year for equivalent positions.
• Retention: Experienced teachers face financial incentives to leave for higher-paying jurisdictions or transition to non-teaching careers.
• Educational Quality: Lower pay relative to the national market undermines Guam’s ability to attract and retain a stable, high-quality teaching workforce, directly impacting student outcomes.
• Annual Vacancies: At the start of every school year, the Guam Department of Education is already operating at a deficit because several dozen teaching positions remain unfilled. This is not an isolated anomaly but a recurring structural problem that forces schools to rely on long-term substitutes, combine classes, or leave critical courses understaffed. Chronic vacancies are particularly acute in hard‑to‑staff areas such secondary content courses, where Guam must compete directly with mainland districts that offer substantially higher pay and more robust support. The result is that students begin the year without a fully qualified teacher in front of them, undermining continuity of instruction and sending a clear message that the system has normalized operating below full staffing as a matter of routine rather than exception.

Policy Recommendations

Based on the statistical analysis and national comparison, the Guam Federation of Teachers recommends the following actions:

1. Immediate Structural Salary Adjustment
   Authorize a targeted increase to the ED-2 through ED-4 salary schedule (and proportional adjustments across all educator grades) to bring the average Guam teacher to at least 95–100% of the national average. This would require raising the mean salary from approximately $61,465 to $68,000–$72,000.
2. Index Educator Pay to National Benchmarks
   Enact legislation requiring periodic review of the educator pay plan against national salary data and Guam’s cost of living, with automatic adjustments to prevent future erosion of competitive position.
3. Authorize Collective Bargaining for Salary Negotiations
   Strengthen provisions that allow teachers and their unions to negotiate compensation directly, ensuring transparency and responsiveness to workforce needs.
4. Fully Fund the Yamashita Educator Corps Scholarship
   Invest in a robust pipeline of locally trained teachers committed to serving in Guam’s public schools, reducing reliance on external recruitment in a competitive national market.
5. Multi-Year Stabilization Plan
   Commit to a three- to five-year budget trajectory that systematically brings Guam educator pay into parity with the national average, with annual reporting on recruitment, retention, and vacancy rates to track progress.

Data Source and Methodology Notes

• Data: FY25 4th Quarter Teacher Pay Schedule, Government of Guam Department of Education and Department of Administration.
• Population: 1,325 teachers classified as ED-2 (Teacher II), ED-3 (Teacher III), or ED-4 (Teacher IV).
• Exclusions: ED-1 positions (probationary, limited-term, Head Start), ED-5 and ED-6 positions (senior/specialized roles), and all ED-7 and above (administrative/program consultant positions).
• Statistical Measures: Mean, median, mode, standard deviation, quartiles, interquartile range, minimum, maximum, and average step calculated using standard descriptive statistics methods.
• National Benchmark: NEA 2023–24 Rankings and Estimates national average teacher salary ($72,030).

Conclusion

The FY25 4th quarter data reveal that Guam’s core classroom teachers, represented by the ED-2 through ED-4 pay grades, earn an average of $61,465 per year. This places Guam approximately 15% below the national average teacher salary and represents a significant competitive disadvantage in recruiting and retaining qualified educators.

The statistical profile shows a workforce distributed across early-career (ED-2), mid-career (ED-3), and experienced (ED-4) stages, with the largest cohort in ED-4 and an overall average step around Step 10. While the 2022 EDUPP provided an important 20% base adjustment, the persistent gap between Guam and national salary levels—combined with continued upward movement in mainland teacher pay—underscores the urgent need for further structural increases, indexed adjustments, and enhanced bargaining mechanisms.

Without decisive legislative action, Guam risks deepening teacher shortages, increasing turnover, and compromising the quality of education available to the island’s students.

Prepared by:
Guam Federation of Teachers, AFT Local 1581

Contact:
Sanjay Sharma, PhD
Vice-President, Guam Federation of Teachers | AFT Local 1581