Generation Y teachers (those born since 1977) are more likely than older teachers to support the idea of earning more money for working harder, and more likely to say that linking financial rewards to student performance might improve teaching, a new national survey finds.

But the survey from Public Agenda and Learning Point Associates also finds that younger teachers are less likely to support performance pay based on standardized test scores. And they're just as likely to say other things will improve teaching more, such as reducing class sizes, improving professional development opportunities or increasing teacher pay overall.

There are plenty of other interesting nuggets in the survey, including this one: 66 percent of teachers strongly agreed or somewhat agreed that "the union sometimes fights to protect teachers who really should be out of the classroom." That's up from 48 percent in 2003.

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