Today a new international study on teachers was released by the OECD. Sounds like a snoozer, right?

Except there’s some really interesting data. The 2013 Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) was released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). They surveyed teachers around the world to get a sense of what teachers are seeing in their classrooms.

When you look at the data about the US it’s pretty shocking. American teachers love their jobs but only 34% feel that they are valued by society. Teachers deserve more respect and they realize that the constant attacks from people like Michelle Rhee helps devalue them in society.

In fact, when you look at the TALIS data it shows that countries where teachers feel valued have higher levels of student achievement.

More importantly, countries that do better than the good old US of A have more teaches on a permanent contract. So while Robert Gibbs and Ben LaBolt join a national right-wing campaign to strip teachers of a permanent contract, the OECD shows that is the exact wrong thing to do.

But the most alarming thing about the TALIS survey is what it shows about poverty. Sadly, 64.5% of teachers teach in schools with 30% poverty or more. That’s the highest among industrialized countries. Mexico only has 44% of teachers teaching in schools with 30% poverty or greater. Think about that: we’re worse than Mexico on poverty in schools.

Why does this matter? Because poverty matters! Poverty affects student achievement. It affects what the teacher is able to do.

So while people push anti-teacher, Vergara style lawsuits to strip teachers of basic workplace rights, the OECD is saying do the opposite.

This international study confirms what true progressive are already saying. Cut back the testing, give teachers respect and job security, a deal with poverty.