Re-igniting debate on teacher pay. (update).

Contrary to popular thought, teachers get paid quite well, say economists who have studied the topic. In fact, their hourly salary matches or exceeds architects, civil engineers and accountants, according to the economists.

Their studies re-ignite the age-old debate on teacher salaries.

In two pieces published recently in the Hoover Institute's Education Next journal, economics professor Richard Vedder of Ohio University and Michael Podgursky, chairman of the department of economics at the University of Missouri-Columbia, say teacher salaries compare with salaries of other professionals considering the length of their work day, number of days they work--about 190 days including professional development compared to 240 days for most other professions--and fringe benefits.

Using statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor, Vedder says only lawyers and judges earned significantly more than teachers on a weekly basis in 2001 and their hourly wage topped the highest paid category of workers--in executive, administrative and managerial fields. Teachers enjoy shorter on-site work schedules, better health care benefits, better retirement packages, and more sick days than most other professionals do, Podgursky says.

Nonsense, says the American Federation of Teachers. AFT research analyst Howard Nelson, says the calculations are flawed. Hourly wages computed by the professors didn't calculate afternoons or evenings that teachers work developing lesson plans or grading papers, Nelson says, revealing a 50-hour work week. The AFT, which uses data collected by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, maintains that teachers, at an average yearly salary of $44,367, lag behind accountants at $54,981, engineers at $96,238 and computer program analysts at $74,534. If additional summer pay were added to the computations, teachers would still earn just $49,438.

Joe Bush, data specialist at U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, says the BLS doesn't compute average hourly wages for teachers due to work year and contract differences. But BLS's yearly wage data show that elementary and middle school teachers lag behind nurses at $48,240, accountants at $50,690 and mechanical engineers at $63,530.

While both sides can't agree on exact wage figures, they agree some changes are needed. Podgursky and Vedder say the problem is more about how pay is distributed. Teachers with larger class sizes or those who handle more difficult students should receive more, they say. Higher salaries should be considered for teachers in more competitive fields, such as science and math, because they can be lured away to the private sector.

California teacher Brian Crosby says in his book The $100,000 Teacher that six-figure salaries should be available for teachers at the top of the profession, or the best 5 percent. And Steve Farkas, research director for Public Agenda which recently surveyed teachers, says there should be some flexibility as long as pay isn't tied to student test scores.