Survey Shows Teachers' Commitment to Student Success

A new survey of more than 40,000 pre-K through 12 teachers shows that educators have a real world knowledge of the challenges in helping students achieve their full potential and a real world understanding of how we can most effectively meet the needs of students, AFT president Randi Weingarten says.

The survey of teachers' views on education reform was conducted by Scholastic Inc. and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The results, Weingarten notes, are significant and come at a time when there is far too much scapegoating of teachers by those who ought to know better.

"Teachers are willing to go the extra mile to help students succeed, but they need tools, time, trust and support to do their jobs well," she says. "As the survey shows, teachers know better than most what students need and feel strongly that they must be a real partner with school leadership in designing improvement plans. To make genuine education progress, teachers say there needs to be strong and supportive school leadership; common standards across the states; multiple ways to measure both teachers' teaching and student learning, including standardized tests and growth of student progress; and a bridge between the school and children's homes to raise student achievement.

"Teachers strongly indicated that most current teacher evaluation methods do not provide accurate assessments and are unhelpful to retain quality teachers. Importantly, the survey found that nearly all teachers say that non-monetary rewards, such as supportive leadership and collaborative working environments, are the most important factors to retaining good teachers; just 8 percent said pay-for-performance plans are absolutely essential. This may work in the business world but will have the opposite effect in education.

"The common factor in school districts that have successful reform programs is a respectful partnership between school management and teachers. Collaboration, not conflict, is in the best interest of students, teachers, parents and the community." [AFT press release]

March 3, 2010