Educational Instruction and Library
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education
Teach academic and social skills to students at the elementary school level.
MAY 2025 · OCCUPATIONAL WAGES
A wage reference for United States.
Published wage percentiles describe a distribution within the source occupation group. They provide context for a career decision; employer packages and job offers have their own terms.
Source wage group: Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education
This wage group may include multiple detailed occupations. The figures are for the source group, which may be broader than Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education. They are not an exact-title, employer, experience or seniority match.
May 2025 · USD · United States. Annual and hourly figures are shown only when the source publishes them; neither is calculated from the other.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage data, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service.
Median annual wage$63,970USD per year · Published 50th percentile
Annual wage thresholds
USD per year
| Percentile | Annual wage (USD/year) | Hourly wage (USD/hour) |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $47,960 | Not published |
| 25th | $57,710 | Not published |
| 50th · Median | $63,970 | Not published |
| 75th | $81,450 | Not published |
| 90th | $104,340 | Not published |
“≥” means at least the published amount; “≤” means at most that amount. These are bounds, not exact values. “Not published” means the source did not provide that figure. Occupational wages follow the source definition and do not establish an employer’s base salary, equity or total compensation.
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THE WORK BEHIND THE TITLE
What this career involves.
Occupation definitions describe common work. Responsibilities and requirements vary by employer and specific job.
Selected title examples
Art EducatorArt InstructorArt TeacherBand TeacherBilingual InstructorBilingual TeacherChoir TeacherClassroom TeacherEducatorElementary Art TeacherElementary Classroom TeacherElementary Education Teacher
Expand more title examples (28)
Elementary EducatorElementary PE Teacher (Elementary Physical Education Teacher)Elementary School Band DirectorElementary School TeacherElementary TeacherESL Teacher (English as a Second Language Teacher)General Education TeacherGrade School TeacherGym TeacherHome TeacherLanguage Arts TeacherLanguage InstructorMath Teacher (Mathematics Teacher)Montessori TeacherMusic EducatorMusic InstructorMusic TeacherOrchestra TeacherPE Teacher (Physical Education Teacher)Physical Fitness TeacherPrimary TeacherReading SpecialistReading TeacherResource TeacherSocial Studies TeacherStudent TeacherTeacherUpper Elementary Teacher
Typical tasks
- Instruct students individually and in groups, using teaching methods such as lectures, discussions, and demonstrations.
- Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order among the students.
- Guide and counsel students with adjustment or academic problems or with special academic interests.
- Adapt teaching methods and instructional materials to meet students' varying needs and interests.
- Plan and conduct activities for a balanced program of instruction, demonstration, and work time that provides students with opportunities to observe, question, and investigate.
- Prepare materials and classrooms for class activities.
Expand more tasks (32)
- Read books to entire classes or small groups.
- Observe and evaluate students' performance, behavior, social development, and physical health.
- Confer with parents or guardians, teachers, counselors, and administrators to resolve students' behavioral and academic problems.
- Meet with parents and guardians to discuss their children's progress and to determine priorities for their children and their resource needs.
- Use computers, audio-visual aids, and other equipment and materials to supplement presentations.
- Meet with other professionals to discuss individual students' needs and progress.
- Establish clear objectives for all lessons, units, and projects and communicate those objectives to students.
- Prepare and implement remedial programs for students requiring extra help.
- Assign and grade class work and homework.
- Prepare, administer, and grade tests and assignments to evaluate students' progress.
- Prepare students for later grades by encouraging them to explore learning opportunities and to persevere with challenging tasks.
- Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations.
- Enforce administration policies and rules governing students.
- Organize and lead activities designed to promote physical, mental, and social development, such as games, arts and crafts, music, and storytelling.
- Provide a variety of materials and resources for children to explore, manipulate, and use, both in learning activities and in imaginative play.
- Prepare objectives and outlines for courses of study, following curriculum guidelines or requirements of states and schools.
- Prepare for assigned classes and show written evidence of preparation upon request of immediate supervisors.
- Instruct and monitor students in the use and care of equipment and materials to prevent injuries and damage.
- Confer with other staff members to plan and schedule lessons promoting learning, following approved curricula.
- Collaborate with other teachers and administrators in the development, evaluation, and revision of elementary school programs.
- Attend professional meetings, educational conferences, and teacher training workshops to maintain and improve professional competence.
- Administer standardized ability and achievement tests, and interpret results to determine student strengths and needs.
- Plan and supervise class projects, field trips, visits by guest speakers or other experiential activities, and guide students in learning from those activities.
- Prepare reports on students and activities as required by administration.
- Supervise, evaluate, and plan assignments for teacher assistants and volunteers.
- Organize and label materials and display students' work.
- Perform administrative duties, such as school library assistance, hall and cafeteria monitoring, and bus loading and unloading.
- Attend staff meetings and serve on committees, as required.
- Select, store, order, issue, and inventory classroom equipment, materials, and supplies.
- Involve parent volunteers and older students in children's activities to facilitate involvement in focused, complex play.
- Provide students with disabilities with assistive devices, supportive technology, and assistance accessing facilities, such as restrooms.
- Sponsor extracurricular activities, such as clubs, student organizations, and academic contests.
Skills used in this work
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Expand more skills (29)
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Operations Analysis
- Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Technology Design
- Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
- Management of Material Resources
- Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
- Programming
- Writing computer programs for various purposes.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Equipment Selection
- Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
- Management of Financial Resources
- Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Equipment Maintenance
- Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
- Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
- Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
- Troubleshooting
- Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
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