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The differences between instructional assistants and education paraprofessionals can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an instructional assistant has an average salary of $32,170, which is higher than the $31,158 average annual salary of an education paraprofessional.
The top three skills for an instructional assistant include CPR, math and instructional materials. The most important skills for an education paraprofessional are autism, behavioral issues, and mathematics.
| Instructional Assistant | Education Paraprofessional | |
| Yearly salary | $32,170 | $31,158 |
| Hourly rate | $15.47 | $14.98 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 50,185 | 53,164 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.33 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
An instructional assistant's role is to assist teachers and faculty members by performing various tasks. Their responsibilities will involve managing and monitoring the classroom environment, crafting visual aids and informative presentations, preparing laboratories and equipment, grading papers, recording data, and organizing schedules. An instructional assistant may also teach short courses when a teacher is not around, and provide tutorial sessions to small groups. Furthermore, they may also perform administrative tasks such as producing progress reports and necessary documentation, taking attendance, and responding to calls and correspondence.
An education paraprofessional's role is to carry out support tasks for a teacher in a school setting. They are responsible for creating learning materials such as visual aids and presentations, participating in devising lesson plans and assessment methods, grading and evaluating student performances, and even maintaining order in the classroom. There are also instances where they must assist students who are having difficulties catching up with the lessons. Furthermore, an education paraprofessional may also teach under the supervision of a more experienced educator.
Instructional assistants and education paraprofessionals have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Instructional Assistant | Education Paraprofessional | |
| Average salary | $32,170 | $31,158 |
| Salary range | Between $23,000 And $44,000 | Between $24,000 And $39,000 |
| Highest paying City | Salem, OR | South San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Kern Community College District | Boston Public Schools |
| Best paying industry | Education | Finance |
There are a few differences between an instructional assistant and an education paraprofessional in terms of educational background:
| Instructional Assistant | Education Paraprofessional | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Psychology |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between instructional assistants' and education paraprofessionals' demographics:
| Instructional Assistant | Education Paraprofessional | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 27.3% Female, 72.7% | Male, 19.7% Female, 80.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.9% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 21.0% Asian, 8.2% White, 55.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.4% | Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 8.3% White, 60.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |