On November 1, the American Enterprise Institute and the Heritage Foundation released the report, “Assessing the Compensation of Public School Teachers,” claiming that public school teachers are overpaid by as much as 52%, overcharging taxpayers $120 billion per year. This comes as shocking news, considering that full-time teachers are more likely to hold another job to make ends meet than any other profession in America, according to a study conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
The authors of the report, Richwine and Biggs, assert that public school teachers are overcompensated largely as a result of the perks they receive, including a shortened work day and year. The study ignores the fact that while on paper, teachers work 7.5 hour days with 30 minute lunch breaks, teach for 180 days, and work for 195, in reality, they work much more than this. According to the BLS study, 79 percent of American public school teachers begin their work day at 7:00 a.m., well before their students arrive, and 51 percent conduct another full day’s work over the weekend. While most teachers enjoy ten weeks off in the summer, this time is often used for professional development, classroom set up, adjusting to a change in assignment or grade level, and planning.
Richwine and Biggs argue that if we reduced teacher salaries, we'd have more money to spend on school supplies and instructional materials. In addition to the extra hours teachers put in, many are digging into their own pockets to make sure their students have the supplies and support they need to succeed. According to a 2010 study by the National School Supply and Equipment Association (NSSEA), “public school teachers in the United States spend more than $1.33 billion on school supplies and instructional materials”
Richwine and Biggs go on to point out that in addition to being overpaid, teachers fall below the average aptitude of other college graduates, an assertion that begs the question: what does aptitude have to do with patience, empathy, and the ability to inspire? Excellent teaching requires far more than intellectual capacity and content knowledge. The effective integration of content knowledge, pedagogy, and classroom management is no small feat.
We know that the single most important in-school contributor to student success is teacher quality (Hanushek and Rivkin, 2006). With that in mind, we must do everything we can to create the conditions that entice first-rate candidates to become—and remain—teachers. And I’m not just talking about money. This ongoing focus on money is misdirected. Research indicates that if a teacher is given the choice between earning a significantly higher salary and working at a school with better conditions, the teacher consistently chooses the school with the better working conditions (Public Agenda as cited in Johnson & Birkeland, 2003). Even in the private sector, pay has been found to be less important in motivating employees than an environment of mutual respect, opportunities for professional development and advancement, and the joy of becoming good at one’s job (Darling-Hammond, 2010). We must foster this type of positive reinforcement for our teachers. Money is necessary, but insufficient. If we are serious about advancing the achievement of our students, we must implement change in the way we conceptualize the teaching profession. The teacher bashing has got to stop.
Furthermore, while we lament the performance of American students on international comparative assessments such as PISA and TIMSS, we ignore the fact that countries that consistently outperform us have radically different approaches to teacher recruitment and retention. This is not a coincidence. These countries know that in order to attract and retain the best and brightest, they have to offer competitive salaries, opportunities for advancement, and most importantly, respect. According to a study by the Organization for Economic and Cooperative Development (OECD), teachers in other industrialized countries make an average of 117% more than American public school teachers. In Korea, teachers make a staggering 221% more. Despite working fewer weeks than teachers in most other countries, the OECD found that American teachers work more hours than teachers in any other country.
If the question we’re asking is whether our teachers are overpaid, we’re asking the wrong question and ignoring the facts. Read more on why Secretary Duncan thinks so.