First grade teacher vs certified teacher

The differences between first grade teachers and certified teachers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a certified teacher has an average salary of $50,708, which is higher than the $49,757 average annual salary of a first grade teacher.

The top three skills for a first grade teacher include classroom management, math and social studies. The most important skills for a certified teacher are math, mathematics, and kids.

First grade teacher vs certified teacher overview

	First Grade Teacher	Certified Teacher
Yearly salary	$49,757	$50,708
Hourly rate	$23.92	$24.38
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	70,517	92,051
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	-	-

What does a first grade teacher do?

First-grade teachers are the first instructors of children after they finished the kindergarten level. They play an essential role as children aged six to seven move to more structured learning. Generally, they set an exciting tone of learning for the fundamental skills in writing, reading, and math. These teachers create and give effective learning activities to the children to enhance their physical, emotional, intellectual, and social development. They have to effectively manage the classroom and ensure that all students are safe. Also, they give regular assessments to children to evaluate if their teaching method is effective and to determine the learning style of each child. Additionally, they need to communicate with parents, guardians, and principals on the progress of the children.

What does a certified teacher do?

A certified teacher is responsible for designing lesson plans and activities for the students by following the curriculum and the students' learning needs. Certified teachers manage the coordination of the students within the classroom setting, observe their behaviors, and identify their areas of improvement by determining every student's strengths and weaknesses. They also evaluate the students' performance and progress by conducting assessments and facilitating engaging activities that would not only help the students develop their mental skills but their social connections as well.

First grade teacher vs certified teacher salary

First grade teachers and certified teachers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	First Grade Teacher	Certified Teacher
Average salary	$49,757	$50,708
Salary range	Between $37,000 And $65,000	Between $37,000 And $68,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	Danbury, CT
Highest paying state	New York	Connecticut
Best paying company	Shady Side Academy	Universal Health Services
Best paying industry	Education	Government

Differences between first grade teacher and certified teacher education

There are a few differences between a first grade teacher and a certified teacher in terms of educational background:

	First Grade Teacher	Certified Teacher
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Most common major	Elementary Education	Elementary Education
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

First grade teacher vs certified teacher demographics

Here are the differences between first grade teachers' and certified teachers' demographics:

	First Grade Teacher	Certified Teacher
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 7.5% Female, 92.5%	Male, 25.6% Female, 74.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 12.8% Asian, 3.7% White, 69.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 12.8% Asian, 3.7% White, 69.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between first grade teacher and certified teacher duties and responsibilities

First grade teacher example responsibilities.

Used technology such as scanning documents, creating hyperlinks and PowerPoint to document student progress for student lead conferences.
Prepare and plan literacy and math centers daily to encourage student achievement and socialization skills.
Develop standards-based curricula including a balance literacy program, math and writers' workshops and after school intervention program.
Implement the PBIS social emotional development program.
Employ PBIS to reenforce positive behavior among students.
Focuse on ESL students using methodical scaffolding, with an emphasis on citizenship and literacy.

Certified teacher example responsibilities.

Lead debates with advance students on topics including globalization, economics, and political history.
Prepare and implement daily lessons for reading, math, writing, science, social studies, and global events/locations.
Used PBIS behavior and academic model.
Serve on PBIS committee to drive school-wide behavior system.
Attend IEP meetings, apply accommodations to classroom instruction and assessment, work with co-teacher in inclusion classes.
Plan, prepare and demonstrate math instruction materials base on specific learning objectives for 6th , 7th and 8th grades.

First grade teacher vs certified teacher skills

Common first grade teacher skills

Classroom Management, 29%
Math, 13%
Social Studies, 5%
Professional Development, 4%
Classroom Environment, 4%
Language Arts, 3%

Common certified teacher skills

Math, 15%
Mathematics, 15%
Kids, 13%
Classroom Management, 9%
CPR, 5%
Professional Development, 5%

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First Grade Teacher vs Certified Teacher

Updated January 8, 2025

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