Education nonprofit The New Teacher Project (TNTP) released a report titled Shortchanged: The Hidden Costs of Lockstep Teacher Pay.

Business Insider reviewed the report, which noted that 90% of U.S. school districts still use "lockstep pay," where teachers receive raises based on how long they have worked and whether they earn advanced degrees, regardless of their performance. 

The authors argue that these standardized pay scales are the wrong way to compensate teachers, because they result in low "early-career salaries," which stop talented young people from considering teaching. They also damage teacher retention and keep effective teachers out of high-need areas.

It takes teachers twice as long to reach peak salaries as it does in other professions, said the report, and since teachers are paid the same whether they work in high- or low-income schools, "great teachers who step up to the most urgent challenges see their hard work go unrewarded."

Read the full story.