Is there a standard measure of how many hours the average teacher works?

Researchers haven’t agreed about the best way to measure how many hours U.S. K-12 teachers actually work, given school calendars and overstated self-reporting.

Research has been based variously on hourly, weekly or annual earnings, but adjusting across different school day, holiday and summer schedules complicates measurement. Many other workers, in contrast, work the same schedules all year long, with common vacation and time-off rules.

Researchers have found that asking teachers to self-report leads to overestimates averaging 22%. Respondents forget to factor in the chunks of time off that they get during the summer.

This complicates answers to assertions that teacher pay is too low (or too high). “Focusing on across-the-board raises distracts from less costly but more useful reforms” such as pay differentials or increased “teacher mobility,” one analysis argues.