Frustrated by poor pay and underfunded schools, half of public school teachers nationally have seriously considered leaving the profession in the past few years and majorities say that given the opportunity, they’d vote to strike. These are just a few of the results from the 51^st annual Phi Delta Kappa Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools painting a portrait of broad teacher discontent.

Among other notable results:

• Sixty percent of teachers say they’re unfairly paid, and 55 percent say they’d vote to go on strike for higher pay.
• Parents and the public overall mainly stand with them; 74 percent of parents and 71 percent of all adults say they would support a strike by teachers in their community for higher pay.
• Seventy-five percent of teachers say the schools in their community are underfunded. Fifty-eight percent say they’d vote to strike for higher funding for school programs, and 52 percent say they’d support a strike for greater teacher say in academic policies on standards, testing and the curriculum.
• A majority of teachers, 55 percent, would not want their child to follow them into the profession, chiefly citing inadequate pay and benefits, job stress and feeling disrespected or undervalued.

Now in its fourth consecutive year produced by Langer Research Associates, the PDK Poll includes a national random sample of public school teachers, adding their voices to those of parents and the general public on issues in public education. See media coverage by The Washington Post, CNBC, Forbes, The Hill, the American Federation of Teachers, the National Association of Secondary School Principals and Education Week Teacher, Education Dive, EdSurge, The 74, AJC, Education Writers Association, The College Fix and the CATO Institute, among others.