Teacher survey says …
Education policy think tank Education Sector today released “Trending Toward Reform,” a survey of U.S. teachers on a range of reform and union issues. (Actually, it was released with embargo two weeks ago).
Here are the questions I found at least a little interesting:
Union involvement
38% say “they are very or somewhat involved and engaged in the local union.”
That’s up from 24% in 2007.
41% say “the union provides feelings of pride and solidarity, in addition to the practical benefits.”
That’s up from 31% in 2007.
Reform issues
46% “strongly or somewhat favor financially rewarding teachers whose students make more academic progress – in terms of improved reading levels, teacher evaluations and classroom tests – when compared to similar students taught by other teachers.”
That figure was 44% in 2007 and 47% in 2003.
43% think teachers unions or associations should “put more focus than they currently do on issues such as improving teacher quality and student achievement.”
That’s up from 32% in 2007.
16% said their “students’ standardized test scores were include as part of” their most recent formal evaluation. (See below.)
“When you hear that a teacher at your school has been awarded tenure, which would be more likely to cross your mind?”
28% said “that the teacher has proven to be very good at what she does.” That’s up from 23% in 2007
63% said tenure is “just a formality – it has very little to do with whether a teacher is good or not.” That’s down from 69% in 2007.
Bonus pay
83% support paying more to teachers who work in tough neighborhoods with low-performing schools. (80% in 2007 and 70% in 2003)
66% support paying more to teachers with National Board certification (64% in 2007 and 57% in 2003)
58% support paying more to teachers who specialize in hard-to-fill subjects (53% in 2007 and 57% in 2003)
You might ask: What would a similar survey of South Dakota teachers say?
The best I can do is a SD Department of Education survey on teacher evaluation, which was published online sometime before March 2011, when I found it and saved it onto my computer.
It included 110 teachers. The only question worth reporting is this one:
Does your school’s teacher evaluation system “include student achievement outcomes or student growth data as an evaluation criterion?” 20% said yes.
By 2014-15, that will be 100%, unless something weird happens.
