Public Schoolteachers Earn High Marks in National Classroom Study

Citing the results of an extensive survey of American public schoolteachers, the president of the nation’s largest teachers’ organization said Wednesday that most teachers today are highly dedicated to their jobs and are generally better educated and working longer hours than they were five years ago.

That profile was drawn from a study of the responses of 1,200 teachers to a questionnaire from the National Education Assn., which has conducted a survey on the status of teachers every five years since 1961. The findings were released at the start of the NEA national convention, which runs through Sunday in Los Angeles.

For the first time since 1961, the number of teachers who have a master’s degree or doctorate surpassed 50%, NEA President Mary Futrell said.

The average teacher also has at least 15 years of teaching experience, the highest level ever recorded by the NEA study, and spends 49 hours a week on teaching duties.

The average teacher earns $24,504, up 42% since 1981, slightly outpacing the rate of inflation.

The survey found a decline in the number of black teachers, from 7.8% in 1981 to 6.9% in 1986. Other minority groups accounted for 3.4% of the teaching force last year.