Survey: Majority Say U.S. Teachers Underpaid

By Liana Heitin on January 5, 2012 

Ed Week

More than half of Americans believe that U.S. teachers are underpaid, according to a national telephone survey by Poll Position. The survey was conducted in December, about a month after the American Enterprise Institute released a controversial study saying teachers are overpaid. (You can find our coverage of the AEI report here, in what became our fifth most-viewed story of 2011.)

Poll Position asked 1,142 registered voters whether they think school teachers are "underpaid, overpaid, or make the right amount of money." Overall, 56 percent of respondents said teachers are underpaid. Among respondents in the 18- to 29-year-old age group, 70 percent said teachers are underpaid. While 67 percent of Democrats said teachers are underpaid, only 45 percent of Republicans agreed.

In addition, 13 percent of total respondents said teachers are overpaid and 24 percent said they make the right amount of money. About 8 percent of respondents had no opinion on the matter.

Take a look at the full survey results, which also compare subgroups by race and gender, here [PDF].