Educators Support the Common Core State Standards (Voices of Education)
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A national survey of over 3,000 educators reveals strong support for the Common Core State Standards, with 74.7% in favor of adoption and confidence in its positive impact on student preparation for college and career. Many educators believe they have received adequate training to implement the standards, although they also report that resources for parents and community members to understand the standards are insufficient and underutilized. Despite support for the standards, educators express concern about the increasing politicization surrounding the Common Core.
Educators Support the Common Core State Standards (Voices of Education)
- 1. SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT NETWORK “VOICES OF EDUCATION” SURVEY Educators Support the Common Core State Standards National Survey of Educators Shows Support for the Standards and Confidence in the Positive Impact for Students Despite early widespread adoption of the Common Core State Standards, recent political efforts in many states have involved attempts to negate or withdraw from the Common Core State Standards. Opponents argue the Standards will harm students and the educational system, but a survey of over 3,077 educators throughout all 50 states shows teachers don’t agree. (see Figure 1). While both administrators and teachers showed overall Background support for the Standards, administrators are slightly more supportIn April 2013, School Improvement Network conducted a survey ive than teachers, wherein 85.8% of administrators say they support asking educators nationwide for their opinion of the Common Core adoption, compared with 70.5% of teachers (p<0.001) . Even among State Standards and the potential impact on students. 3,077 educators educators responding in states that have not yet voted to incorpo- from all 50 states responded, including 65.2% of teachers and 20.3% of rate the Standards, more than half of all educators, including 58.8% administrators in grades K-12 in rural, urban, and suburban settings, of administrators and 52.7% of teachers (p<0.001), say they would with all levels of experience in teaching from first-year teachers to support adoption. 20+ years. Educator Support of Common Core State Standard Adoption The 17-item survey included eight yes/no questions, six Likert questions, one multiple choice question, and two “mark all that apply” questions. Of responding educators, 91.3% work in states that have 18.6% 25.3% voted to incorporate the Standards, and 75.3% of all respondents say students will be tested on the subject matter they teach as part of the Standards. 81.4% Do not support 74.7% Do Educators Support the Common Core State Standards? support Overall, survey results show that educators, particularly administra- fig. 1 tors, support the Common Core State Standards and believe they will be beneficial for students and the educational system. Of the 91.3% responding educators who live in states that have voted 1. The statistical significance of every contrast was evaluated and reported throughout in p-values. Significance with a sample of 3,000+ is reached with as small a difference as 0.15%. to incorporate the Standards, 74.7% say they support this adoption 1 SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT NETWORK®
- 2. Combined, 57.9% of responding educators say an education system When considering the ramifications of the Standards on educators, based on common standards shared between states is necessary 57.9% of educators collectively believe the Standards would either to prepare all students for college and career, including 65.3% of increase or have no effect on their current level of freedom and administrators and 54.5 % of teachers (p<0.001). flexibility, including 52.1% of teachers and 71.2% of administrators (p<0.001). Although the majority of educators favor the Common Core State Standards, 79.0% think the Standards have become overly political Are Educators Ready to Implement the Common Core Standards? (76.6% of administrators and 79.2% of teachers) (p<0.001). While 70.4% of all educators say they do not support recent efforts by political groups and other organizations to remove the Standards, Despite the relatively new nature of the Standards, educators as a administrators feel particularly strong on the issue. Of responding whole say they feel confident in their ability to make the instructional administrators, 82.2% oppose such political efforts, along with 65.7% shifts outlined by the Standards. 77.9% say they feel confident in their of teachers (p<0.001). ability to incorporate the Standards, including 84.4% of administrators and 76.1 % of teachers (p<0.001). How Will the Common Core Standards Impact Students and Educators? Survey results also show that the type of training educators receive on 81.4% of educators say the Standards will have an overall positive to implement them. In response to a “mark all that apply” question impact on students’ preparation towards college and career (see about types of training available, 37.6% of educators report having Figure 2). Of that, 52.8% say the Standards would have a “very positive been offered workshops, 31.7% received reading materials, and 17.4% impact” or “positive impact” on students’ preparation for college and say they have been offered online courses or professional develop- career. Only 9.3% of responding educators say the Standards would ment. 7.1 % say they have been offered other types of training, and 6.2% have a “negative impact” or “very negative impact.” When analyzed by say they have been given no training. 53.6% of educators have received professional position, 89.1% of administrators and 78.0% of teach- more than one form of these training methods, and 27.5% say they ers believe the Standards will have a positive impact on students have received three or more. Based on this training, 67.2% of educators (p<0.001). feel their training has been sufficient to ensure proper understanding the Standards impacts the level of confidence they feel in their ability of the Standards, and 61.2 % feel it has been sufficient to implement Educator Beliefs About the Impact of the Common Core State Standards on Students the Standards. In terms of preparation to apply the Standards, the highest percentages of educators who say their training was sufficient to both Negative impact understand and implement the Standards were those who received 18.6% online courses or professional development (see Figure 3, Table 1). 25.3% 85.8% of educators who received such training say it was sufficient to understand the Standards, and 81.7% say it was sufficient to implement 81.4% 74.7% them. Not surprisingly, 88.8% of educators who received this type of training say they feel confident in their ability to make the instruc- Positive Impact tional shifts defined by the Standards. fig. 2 2 SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT NETWORK® 5
- 3. Types and Frequencies of Educator Training on the Common Core State Standards How Do Parents and Community Members Feel about the Common Core State Standards? While some strong-voiced interest groups indicate widespread public 100 distaste for the Standards, responding educators say the feedback 80 they have received from parents and community members does not 60 mirror such negative perspectives. Instead, educator insight reveals 40 given sufficient information to properly understand the Standards, that parents and other members of the community have not been and of the limited resources that have been provided, very few parents 20 and community members have used these resources to fully educate 0 online courses or professional development fig. 3 workshops themselves on the Standards and their potential impact. reading material Only 21.4% of educators (one in five) say they have received negative feedback from parents and the community about the Standards (see Figure 4). 24.2% of educators (one in four) say they have received positive feedback about the Standards, and 54.4% of educators Educator Perceptions of the Quality of Available Training Resources tab. 1 sufficient to understand the standards online courses or professional development sufficient to implement the standards confidence in ability to make shifts defined by standards 85.8% 81.7% (p<0.001) say they have received no feedback at all (p<0.001). 88.8% workshops 81.1% reading materials 78.4% 74.3% 74.7% 70.7% Parent and Community Feedback on the Common Core State Standards 21.4% 25.3% 85.2% Negative Feedback 54.4% 84.0% no Feedback 24.2% Positive Feedback fig. 4 95.8% of educators say their school or system offers some type of resource to help parents and community members understand the Standards. The most commonly offered resources were an explanation by local educators or the school system (25.5%) or reading materials (23.7 %). For more information on resources offered and their estimated utilization by parents and community members, see Table 2. 3 SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT NETWORK®
- 4. Yet despite the abundance of informative options, educators say these Common Core Resources and Utilization by Parents tab. 2 explanatory resources have been both insufficient and underutilized for helping parents and community members understand the Stan- Resources Offered to Community Estimated Utilization Sufficient to Understand the Standards explanation by Local Educator or School System 25.5% 5.3% 22.4% Informational Meeting 17.0% 9.0% 38.5% Other Online Materials 12.0% 6.7% 28.4% Reading Materials 23.7% 7.4% 29.1% School-Developed Web Page 11.7% 7.0% 33.6% Workshop or Lecture 5.9% 12.0% 49.4% dards. 81.9% of educators say these resources have not been sufficient to help parents and community members clearly understand the Standards. Teachers in particular feel the resources have been insufficient, with 84.2%, and 77.8% of administrators are in agreement (p<0.001). In addition, most educators say what resources are offered are underutilized by parents and community members. 74.6% of educators estimate that less than 25 % of parents and community members have utilized any of the designated resources. Among resources utilized, educators say workshops or lectures were the most popular, estimating that 12% of parents or community members used them. Educators also say workshops or lectures were the most sufficient of the available resources to properly understand the Standards (49.4 %). However, only 5.9% of educators say workshops or lectures were available to parents and community members near their Conclusion school. By contrast, educators say the most available resource to parents and community members, an explanation by a local educator or A survey of 3,077 educators from all 50 states shows the majority of the school system, available in 25.5% of schools, was the least utilized educators support the incorporation of the Common Core State at only 5.3 % of parents and community member participation, and the Standards and feel they will have a beneficial impact on students being least sufficient of all available resources to properly understand the prepared for college and career. Educators say the Standards have Standards. Only 22.4% of educators say such explanations become overly political, and they do not support recent attempts by are sufficient. political groups to negate them. The majority of educators also say they have received sufficient training to understand and implement the Standards and feel confident in their ability to make the instructional shifts required by them. Among the various training methods, educators who have received online courses or professional development felt especially confident in their knowledge of the Standards and their ability to implement them. The majority of educators also agree that parents and community members have not been provided sufficient information to clearly understand the Standards, and what information has been provided has been underutilized. 4 SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT NETWORK®