Teachers Are Overpaid For Their Skill Level: Teachers' Standardized Tests Scores Are In The Bottom Half Of College Graduates

From The Wall Street Journal, "Public School Teachers Aren't Underpaid: Our research suggests that on average—counting salaries, benefits and job security—teachers receive about 52% more than they could in private business." by Andrew G. Biggs And Jason Richwine:

Education is widely regarded by researchers and college students alike as one of the easiest fields of study, and one that features substantially higher average grades than most other college majors. On objective tests of cognitive ability such as the SAT, ACT, GRE (Graduate Record Examination) and Armed Forces Qualification Test, teachers score only around the 40th percentile of college graduates. If we compare teachers and non-teachers with similar AFQT scores, the teacher salary penalty disappears.

While salaries are about even, fringe benefits push teacher compensation well ahead of comparable employees in the private economy. The trouble is that many of these benefits are hidden, meaning that lawmakers, taxpayers and even teachers themselves are sometimes unaware of them.***Properly counted, a typical public school teacher with a salary of $51,000 would receive another $51,480 in present or future fringe benefits. A worker in private business with the same salary would receive around $22,185 in fringe benefits.