National Survey Finds Teachers Bullish About Common Standards
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A Gates Foundation-sponsored survey found a majority of teachers think Common Core State Standards will benefit students.
Almost three-quarters of teachers in the Common Core State Standards subjects of English and math think the standards will have a positive effect on students, according to a new survey sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Overall, more than half of teachers think the standards, adopted by Florida and 44 other states, will have a positive effect on students. About one-third said the standards will not change much, while 8 percent said the standards will have a negative effect.
Common Core is a multi-state effort that outlines what students should know at the end of each grade. The standards also emphasize analytical thinking, asking students what they know and to prove how they know it.
The Gates Foundation has spent tens of millions to support the creation and promotion of Common Core standards. The online survey polled 20,000 teachers in grades pre-K through 12.
Here are some of the top conclusions, according to Education Week:
• 97 percent of all teachers and 100 percent of teachers in states implementing the common core are aware of the standards.
• 57 percent of teachers in common-core states said the standards will be positive for students, 35 percent said they will make “not much of a difference for most students,” and 8 percent said they will be negative for students.
• 77 percent of math and/or English language arts teachers in common-core states said the standards will have a “positive” or “very positive” impact on students’ critical thinking and reasoning skills. 12 percent said the impact would be “neither positive or negative,” 10 percent “don’t know enough to say,” and 1 percent said the impact would be negative.
• Half of math and English language arts teachers in common-core states said implementation “is fully complete or mostly complete in at least one of these areas.” Forty-two percent said implementation is “in its early stages.” Six percent said it has not yet begun.
• In schools where implementation has begun, just 62 percent of core-subject teachers said it is “going well.”
• While nearly three-quarters of core-subject teachers in common-core states say they’re enthusiastic about the standards’ implementation, elementary teachers are most likely to feel this way (81 percent) and high school teachers are least likely (57 percent).
• 73 percent of math, English, science, and social studies teachers agree “strongly” or “somewhat” that implementation of the standards “is or will be challenging.” Seven percent “don’t know enough to say.”
• Nearly three-quarters of teachers in common-core states say the new standards will require them to change their teaching practices. Eight percent were not sure and 18 percent said they would not require changes.
To read what Florida teachers have said about Common Core standards, click here, here and here.
