Low math and science scores and a lack of qualified STEM teachers have left schools scrambling to hire math and science educators. A new CRPE paper out this month looks at the salaries of math and science teachers in Washington State with an interesting spin. Not only are districts and states resisting market pressures to provide higher salaries to these teachers, but, in fact, as a group they're earning a fair amount less than their peers.

Math teachers earn 4.5 percent less and science teachers earn 2.9 percent less than their colleagues for a simple reason: they have fewer years of experience than the typical teacher. Even though STEM teachers are more likely than average to have a master's degree, which in Washington brings a healthy salary bump, their wages are below the district average in 19 of the 30 largest districts in the state.