Myth: Teachers Have Summers Off
Students have summers off, not teachers. Educators spend summers working second jobs, teaching summer school, preparing new lessons, and taking professional development trainings.
And then there’s this: Teachers on average work 53 hours a week—seven more hours than the average working adult and roughly 14 hours over the standard 40-hour work week. And a quarter of that time is uncompensated. So, any time teachers get off during the summer is, to say the least, well-earned.
STATISTICS FROM THE RAND CORPORATION
Myth: Teachers Get Great Benefits, Doesn’t That Make Up for Less Pay?
This argument doesn’t hold up to scrutiny, especially when you look at the teacher pay penalty that has grown steadily over the past 30 years. This is the gap between what teachers make weekly compared with other college-educated workers in other professions. This gap grew to a record 26.9 percent in 2024, up from 6.1 percent in 1996. Furthermore, over the last decade, inflation-adjusted weekly wages for teachers declined by $46.39, but increased by $220.46 for other college graduates.
The so-called “benefits advantage” for teachers is roughly 8 or 9 percent over similar workers from 2020 – 2024. But over the same time frame, the teacher wage penalty grew substantially, far exceeding any advantage in benefits. The total compensation gap between teachers and other college-educated workers widened to -17.1 percent in 2024, the largest on record.
STATISTICS FROM THE ECONOMIC POLICY INSTITUTE
Myth: States are Strapped. We Can’t Afford to Pay Educators More.
Of course we can afford to pay educators more. It’s a question of priorities. Disinvesting in public schools, in educators, in students is a choice. Too many states are doubling down on huge income tax cuts, which mostly benefit the wealthy, even if it means billions in lost revenue and even less ability to invest in public education.
And the top education priority for lawmakers in many states are universal voucher programs that siphon billions from public schools to primarily benefit well-off families. Average public school teacher pay was $18,859 less in states that offered universal or near-universal voucher programs.
STATISTICS FROM THE KENTUCKY CENTER FOR ECONOMIC POLICY, 2024 ANALYSIS
