The purpose of this study was to compare negotiated and non-negotiated salaries, salary-related benefits, and salary rankings of Tennessee K-12 instructional personnel, during the school year 1977-1978 through 1980-1981. An ancillary purpose was to determine what changes in those costs and rankings had occurred after the Education Professional Negotiations Act was implemented on January 1, 1979.

A time-series design was used to historically describe and compare changes in the salaries, benefits, and rankings over a pre-contract era and a contract era. Average teachers' salaries, minimum state salaries, local supplements, retirement and social security, insurance, total basic costs, and average teacher's salary rankings were the variables compared between 34 sample contract and non-contract school districts of similar size (ADA enrollment) and wealth (total value assessment per pupil).

It was concluded from principal findings that in the 34 Tennessee school districts: (1) Negotiations favored the average teacher's salary, (2) negotiations did not favor the average teacher's minimum state salary, (3) negotiations favored the average teacher's local supplement, (4) negotiations favored the average teacher's retirement and social security, (5) negotiations favored the average teacher's total basic cost, (6) negotiations favored the average teacher's paid insurance provisions, and (7) negotiations appeared to decentralize salary ranked school districts.

Recommendations were brought forward from the study’s implications.