Most Educators Say They Are Familiar With Next Generation Education Standards
John O'Connor / StateImpact Florida
Education students at the University of Central Florida are learning how to use books and other materials to design lessons which meet Common Core standards. A survey of educators found most teachers were familiar with the new standards, and most had received at least two days of training on the new standards.
Seven out of ten educators in a national survey said they have had at least two days of training for new, tougher education standards adopted by Florida and 44 other states.
But more than half of those surveyed disagreed that their textbooks and curriculum were aligned with the new standards.
That’s according to a national survey from the EPE Research Center, part of the non-profit group which publishes Education Week.
The poll surveyed educators about how familiar they are with the Common Core State Standards. The standards are intended to be tougher, teaching fewer topics but expecting students to be able to demonstrate their knowledge and use evidence to defend their reasoning.
The standards will also allow for better comparison of student performance from state to state and internationally.
Florida schools have fully introduced the standards in kindergarten and first grade, with all grades scheduled to move to the new standards by the fall of 2014.
According to the poll, nearly one in four surveyed said they were not familiar with the Common Core math standards. Just 8 percent said they were not familiar with the Common Core English language arts standards. Similar percentages of teachers said they were not familiar with their current state standards.
One in five educators surveyed said they felt “very prepared” to teach the Common Core standards to students. Nearly four of five teachers rated themselves a “3” or higher (on a five-point scale) for their preparedness to teach Common Core standards.
Poll respondents said they felt less prepared to teach students with disabilities and English language learners.
The poll surveyed 599 educators. About 90 percent said they were a K-12 teacher. About 44 percent said they taught K-5, and another 44 percent said they taught grades 9-12. One in three said they taught grades 6 through 8 (some taught more than one category, so figures don’t add up to 100 percent).
