Teaching Assistants, Preschool, Elementary, Middle, and Secondary School, Except Special Education
Assist a preschool, elementary, middle, or secondary school teacher with instructional duties. Serve in a position for which a teacher has primary responsibility for the design and implementation of educational programs and services.
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.
This wage group may include multiple detailed occupations. The figures are for the source group, which may be broader than Teaching Assistants, Preschool, Elementary, Middle, and Secondary School, 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.
Annual wage thresholds
USD per year
| Percentile | Annual wage (USD/year) | Hourly wage (USD/hour) |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $27,150 | Not published |
| 25th | $31,060 | Not published |
| 50th · Median | $36,780 | Not published |
| 75th | $45,360 | Not published |
| 90th | $50,040 | 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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What this career involves.
Occupation definitions describe common work. Responsibilities and requirements vary by employer and specific job.
Selected title examples
Expand more title examples (40)
Typical tasks
- Supervise students in classrooms, halls, cafeterias, school yards, and gymnasiums, or on field trips.
- Tutor and assist children individually or in small groups to help them master assignments and to reinforce learning concepts presented by teachers.
- Enforce administration policies and rules governing students.
- Teach social skills to students.
- Instruct and monitor students in the use and care of equipment and materials to prevent injuries and damage.
- Discuss assigned duties with classroom teachers to coordinate instructional efforts.
Expand more tasks (22)
- Present subject matter to students under the direction and guidance of teachers, using lectures, discussions, supervised role-playing methods, or by reading aloud.
- Clean classrooms.
- Observe students' performance, and record relevant data to assess progress.
- Organize and label materials and display students' work in a manner appropriate for their eye levels and perceptual skills.
- Organize and supervise games and other recreational activities to promote physical, mental, and social development.
- Attend staff meetings and serve on committees, as required.
- Use computers, audio-visual aids, and other equipment and materials to supplement presentations.
- Prepare lesson materials, bulletin board displays, exhibits, equipment, and demonstrations.
- Conduct demonstrations to teach skills, such as sports, dancing, and handicrafts.
- Distribute teaching materials, such as textbooks, workbooks, papers, and pencils, to students.
- Type, file, and duplicate materials.
- Laminate teaching materials to increase their durability under repeated use.
- Requisition and stock teaching materials and supplies.
- Take class attendance and maintain attendance records.
- Participate in teacher-parent conferences regarding students' progress or problems.
- Assist in bus loading and unloading.
- Maintain computers in classrooms and laboratories, and assist students with hardware and software use.
- Grade homework and tests, and compute and record results, using answer sheets or electronic marking devices.
- Plan, prepare, and develop various teaching aids, such as bibliographies, charts, and graphs.
- Operate and maintain audio-visual equipment.
- Distribute tests and homework assignments and collect them when they are completed.
- Collect money from students for school-related projects.
Skills used in this work
- 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.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
Expand more skills (29)
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- 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.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- 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.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Management of Material Resources
- Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- 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.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Management of Financial Resources
- Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
- Troubleshooting
- Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Technology Design
- Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
- Programming
- Writing computer programs for various purposes.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Operations Analysis
- Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- 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.
- Equipment Selection
- Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
- Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
- Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
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