 June 04, 2003
In a new survey by Public Agenda, a nonpartisan, nonprofit opinion research organization, public school teachers say they love their work and are confident in their ability to reach and teach most-but not all-students. But a majority (59%) feels that they are unfairly being held accountable for raising student achievement when so much that affects learning is beyond their control. Stand by Me: What Teachers Really Think about Unions, Merit Pay and Other Professional Matters is one of the most comprehensive examinations to date of American teachers' views on unions, tenure, pay-for-performance, alternative certification and other issues. Public Agenda's research consistently finds teachers to be strong supporters of standards, and teachers acknowledge that not all of their colleagues perform at acceptable levels. But a sense of vulnerability, along with fears of politics and favoritism, make them loyal to the tenure system, loyal to their unions and highly skeptical about pay tied to student test scores. According to Public Agenda President Deborah Wadsworth, "Teachers come to the table with an acute sense that few understand the challenges they face and that many outside the classroom underestimate what is needed to improve student learning. For those advocating changes in the teaching profession, Stand by Me gives voice to the deep commitment that teachers feel to their students and to their profession, but also to their feelings of vulnerability and mistrust." How Do You Measure Success? Teachers voice strong support for high academic standards and 87% say students should pass a standardized test to be promoted. But they are clearly grappling
with the pros and cons of current testing policies. Most (53%)
say that standardized tests are "seriously flawed,"
and 1 in 6 would abandon testing completely. Just 18% say tests
are meaningful and their district uses them well. But in the
end, most agree that schools need at least some kind of standardized
assessment. "It's just not possible," according to the teachers in the study "to single-handedly overcome all of the hurdles that invariably seep into their classroom." Only 11% of teachers are very confident that their hardest-to-reach students will be successful by the end of the year. Open to Some Forms of Merit
Pay Two in three teachers (67%) believe that teachers "who consistently work harder, putting in more time and effort" should be paid more. 57% support financial incentives for teachers accredited by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. But tying teacher pay to test scores or other achievement measures finds little favor. Only 38% of teachers favor merit pay for teachers whose students "routinely score higher than similar students on standardized tests." Proposals tying pay to student improvement or to a combination of factors such as reading levels, teacher evaluations and classroom tests find teachers about evenly split. Despite their openness to some forms of merit pay, many teachers worry about unintended consequences. By a 63% to 22% margin, they believe that merit pay would foster "unhealthy competition and jealousy" rather than motivate teachers. And 52% say that merit pay would mean "principals would play favorites" rather than reward good teachers (23%). Less than half (42%) favor paying more to teachers with harder-to-find skills such as science or math expertise. Teachers to Unions: Be There for Me Teachers support--but are hardly
exuberant about--their unions. Just 19% say the national union
"almost always" reflects their values and preferences.
But most teachers believe their lives would be far worse if the
unions weren't there to protect them. Fully 81% believe that
working conditions and salaries would be much worse without collective
bargaining. Tenure Teachers acknowledge that getting tenure is neither a long nor difficult process; 73% work in districts that make tenure available after 3 or 4 years. Most teachers (58%) say that when teachers gain tenure in their district, it is no guarantee that they have "worked hard and proved themselves." Teachers also recognize that
tenure sometimes protects the incompetent. Nearly 8 in 10 say
there are at least a few teachers in their building who "fail
to do a good job." And over a third (36%) say that it is
too hard for administrators to remove any but the very worst. Teachers are divided on their willingness to trade the benefits of tenure for higher pay. Among those who have tenure, 28% would trade it for a $5K pay hike, and the same number would consider it if the increase were a lot higher. Just over a third (34%) would rather hold on to tenure. New Paths to Teaching Teachers are somewhat open to the idea of alternative certification. 50% think it's a good idea, compared to 32% who say "there should be only one recognized way to become a teacher." Of those who know colleagues who have pursued an alternative path into the profession, 65% say these colleagues are good or excellent teachers. But most teachers reject the notion that anyone can walk into a classroom and teach. Nearly 6 in 10 (59%) say it is "absolutely essential" for those who enter teaching from other professions or other routes to go through training that mirrors the traditional certification process. A Texas teacher said, "I can tell you for a fact, walking into that classroom, I don't care how much college you havewalking in there and looking at those smiling facesTo me it's insulting to hear people in the business world say, 'I can always teach.'They may understand how to work a computerbut do you understand how to get under a kid?" Different Circumstances/Different Views Stand by Me found that teachers with different experiences often hold differing views:
According to information provided in a new release, Stand by Me was funded by The Broad Foundation, the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation and the Sidney J. Weinberg, Jr. Foundation. Stand by Me is based on a national random sample mail survey of 1,345 K-12 public school teachers conducted in Spring 2003. The margin of error is plus or minus three percentage points. The survey was preceded by six focus groups conducted in sites across the country as well as 20 in-depth interviews with experts in the field. The study was written by Public Agenda Senior Vice Presidents Steve Farkas, Jean Johnson and Ann Duffett, with the assistance of staff members Leslie Moye and Jackie Vine. Full copies of this and all Public Agenda education reports since 1998 are available free of charge in PDF format at www.publicagenda.org. You can order a printed version for $10 plus $2 shipping and handling by calling Public Agenda at (212) 686-6610. Quantity discounts are available. Public Agenda is a national nonpartisan, nonprofit public opinion research organization, located in New York City, and is respected for its influential public opinion polls and its balanced citizen education materials. Founded in 1975 by Cyrus R. Vance, the former U.S. secretary of state, and Daniel Yankelovich, the social scientist and author, its mission is to inform leaders about the public's views and to inform citizens about government policy.
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