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Secondary teacher vs student teacher

The differences between secondary teachers and student teachers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a student teacher has an average salary of $59,035, which is higher than the $55,261 average annual salary of a secondary teacher.

The top three skills for a secondary teacher include public schools, classroom management and mathematics. The most important skills for a student teacher are classroom management, math, and language arts.

Secondary teacher vs student teacher overview

Secondary TeacherStudent Teacher
Yearly salary$55,261$59,035
Hourly rate$26.57$28.38
Growth rate5%4%
Number of jobs68,36979,071
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Average age4342
Years of experience2-

What does a secondary teacher do?

A secondary teacher plans subject lessons and presents them to learners using creative and engaging teaching methods. They assess the learners' abilities, strengths, and weaknesses and handle them appropriately. These professionals ensure a disciplined classroom by creating and maintaining rules that allow learners to ask questions with no fear and feel comfortable when brainstorming. Moreover, secondary teachers create lesson plans for learners who struggle with specific challenging concepts or when the classroom sizes change.

What does a student teacher do?

A student-teacher is responsible for assisting their supervising instructors in maintaining the class orderliness during lectures and class activities. Student teachers' duties include helping with lesson plans, organizing learning activities, managing student behaviors, observing classroom procedures, preparing visual materials and other educational equipment, providing feedback for students, and keeping students' records for evaluation. A student-teacher must maintain excellent communication and decision-making skills to set goals and make consistent progress to the class while keeping students engaged.

Secondary teacher vs student teacher salary

Secondary teachers and student teachers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Secondary TeacherStudent Teacher
Average salary$55,261$59,035
Salary rangeBetween $39,000 And $77,000Between $46,000 And $74,000
Highest paying CityBaltimore, MDBoston, MA
Highest paying stateMarylandMaryland
Best paying companyBaltimore City Public SchoolsGreat Hearts Academies
Best paying industryEducationEducation

Differences between secondary teacher and student teacher education

There are a few differences between a secondary teacher and a student teacher in terms of educational background:

Secondary TeacherStudent Teacher
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Most common majorEducationElementary Education
Most common collegeHarvard UniversityNorthwestern University

Secondary teacher vs student teacher demographics

Here are the differences between secondary teachers' and student teachers' demographics:

Secondary TeacherStudent Teacher
Average age4342
Gender ratioMale, 36.7% Female, 63.3%Male, 26.4% Female, 73.6%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 8.0% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.7% Asian, 3.6% White, 72.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%Black or African American, 9.7% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 12.5% Asian, 3.7% White, 69.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage12%9%

Differences between secondary teacher and student teacher duties and responsibilities

Secondary teacher example responsibilities.

  • Lead IEP meetings, and participate in all team meetings focuses on emotional and behavior issues.
  • Manage FBLA, assist with meeting notes, financial records, and agendas for meetings, events, and fundraisers.
  • Conduct group and one-on-one math, reading and writing activities.
  • Develop and teach ESL curriculum to Taiwanese elementary, junior high, and high school students.
  • Participate in quarterly curriculum reviews and trainings with other math teachers in the school network and district.
  • Provide students with the fundamentals of a life-long love of literature and a comprehension of its place in society.
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Student teacher example responsibilities.

  • Manage RTI reading groups using both basal materials and literature-base novel units.
  • Lead debates with advance students on topics including globalization, economics, and political history.
  • Develop lessons that integrate technology into mathematics and language arts for various grade-levels.
  • Enhance student engagement for learning math and science through maintaining collaborative learning classroom environment.
  • Used responsive classroom strategies for Pre-K and first grade.
  • Attend workshops on how to access and create IEPS and bill for services.
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Secondary teacher vs student teacher skills

Common secondary teacher skills
  • Public Schools, 11%
  • Classroom Management, 9%
  • Mathematics, 9%
  • Math, 9%
  • Professional Development, 5%
  • Language Arts, 5%
Common student teacher skills
  • Classroom Management, 20%
  • Math, 13%
  • Language Arts, 8%
  • Social Studies, 6%
  • Kindergarten, 5%
  • IEP, 4%

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