Are Teachers Overpaid?

[Tony1941]

From the Discussion Blogs of the New York Times, the following links provide a varied discussion on the topic of compensation for school teachers.

Are Teachers Overpaid?
Higher Pay Than Private Sector
Andrew Biggs, American Enterprise Institute and Jason Richwine, Heritage Foundation
Fringe benefits push total compensation for teachers roughly 50 percent above their private sector peers'.
There Are Simply Too Many Teachers
Lisa Snell, Reason Foundation
We are paying high-quality teachers too little, and we should be paying the poor-performing teachers less — or not at all.
Let’s Focus on Quality, Then Cost
C. Kent McGuire, Southern Education Foundation
What conditions develop and maintain a high-quality teacher work force? My bet is that a competitive salary is among the factors that count.
A Better Way to Slice the Data
Jeffrey Keefe, Rutgers University
If we assume that teachers' educational credentials matter, then we must conclude they are underpaid.
Intelligence Is Not the Same as Value
David Z. Hambrick, associate professor of psychology
Where I live, the average starting pay for a teacher is about $20 an hour. A bartender can make double that. Which job is more important?
Introduction
In the private sector, people with SAT and GRE scores comparable to those of education majors earn less than teachers do. Does that mean teachers are overpaid? Or that public schools should pay more to attract top applicants who tend to go into higher-paying professions?

Read the Discussion »

[rrcjamato]

http://www.lowellsun.com/editorials/ci_19826115

Aren't step increases really like a raise in the end?

[longbow shooter]

Its easy. Bust the teachers' union. They expect compensation that is far and away removed from the financial reality of people who work in the private sector. Since they take their salary from the tax payers, they feel that they can demand unreasonable compensation and simply force the town to raise taxes to accomplish it. The teachers' union is an embarassment to the education system in the US. They have NO concern about the quality of education. They are ONLY concerned with out of touch compensation and promoting mediocrity. Bust the unions and pay the teachers according to their students' test scores. Teach the teachers the meaning of the word "merit" when it comes to their jobs. It is the ONLY way to fix our public education system and improve the quality of education in our country. Until the teachers' unions are gone, the quality of out kids' education will continue to decline.

[Amber]

Seems like the more important question is are teachers fairly compensated adjusting for all market factors. I know some people talked about breaking down the numbers based on private sector counterparts, but I don't know where/if this has been done already. DIane, had you come across anything during your tenure on the SC or after?