Views about public school teachers

PDK Poll

Most Americans express compassion for public school teachers. About three-quarters say they are undervalued in society, 66% say teacher salaries in their community are too low, and 58% think teachers in their area are overworked.

The number who say teachers are underpaid is unchanged from the 2018 PDK Poll, remaining at its highest level in 10 PDK and PDK/Gallup polls to ask the question since 1969. It’s more than double its low point, 29%, in the 1981 PDK/Gallup poll.

Views on the topic are intertwined. People who say teachers are overworked are more likely than others to also say they’re undervalued (91% versus 48%) and more likely to say they’re underpaid (90% versus 33%).

Among groups, women are 12 percentage points more likely than men to say teachers are undervalued and 13 points more likely to say they’re overworked. Political differences emerge here as well: Democrats are 17 percentage points more likely than Republicans to say teachers in their community are overworked and 18 percentage points more likely to say they are undervalued.