Teachers are leaving the profession for better pay

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Educators and students across the country have headed back to school. But a new study finds more and more teachers are struggling as the gap widens between what they're paid and what they could be making in other lines of work.

A report from the nonpartisan Economic Policy Institute shows, on average, U.S. teachers make about 24 percent less than professionals with similar levels of education who work in other fields. The report shows the pay gap began growing in late 1990s as wages in other labor markets were increasing, but education wasn't keeping up.