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发帖数: 19398 | 1 Common Core losing support of Tennessee teachers, survey finds
By Joey Garrison [[email protected]
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Support for Common Core among Tennessee teachers has waned so much since las
t year that a majority now opposes the academic standards, a new statewide s
urvey shows.
With the future of Common Core under fire in Tennessee, a new report from th
e Tennessee Consortium on Research, Evaluation and Development could provide
more ammunition to those who want to roll back the standards.
The new 2014 survey, undertaken by a group led by Vanderbilt University's Pe
abody College of Education and Human Development and released Wednesday, fou
nd that just 39 percent of respondents believe that teaching to the standard
s will improve student learning - compared with 60 percent who said the same
last year.
It also found 56 percent of the 27,000 Tennessee teachers who responded to t
he survey want to abandon the standards, while 13 percent would prefer to de
lay their implementation. Only 31 percent want to proceed. The 2013 survey d
id not ask questions in this area.
"There's been a pretty big drop of support for the Common Core," said Dale B
allou, a Vanderbilt professor and director of the consortium.
"But there doesn't seem to be any single symptom or explanation for that cha
nge. It's a lot of different factors that seem to be playing into this. The
one thing I would caution people against is jumping to the conclusion that t
his means now that teachers are actually trying it, they're discovering that
it doesn't work."
Common Core has phased into classrooms in Tennessee for the past three years
, but the standards have found increasing resistance both locally and nation
ally from conservatives. That includes opposition from groups like Americans
For Prosperity, founded by billionaire brothers Charles G. Koch and David H
. Koch, which has ramped up its political activity in Tennessee.
Gov. Bill Haslam, who was able to keep Common Core intact in Tennessee as th
e legislature delayed testing on the standards, last week called for a "full
vetting" of Common Core - a recognition of the deep divide over the issue.
He plans to seek public input on Common Core ahead of a legislative session
in which tea party Republicans are looking to dump the standards.
One-third of teachers surveyed in 2014 responded to items about Common Core,
a response rate identical to last year's but one that researchers acknowled
ge might not be a perfect snapshot. As a result, the study does not rule out
response bias.
Tennessee Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman, a supporter of the standards
, called the survey results a "replay of the discussion" from the last legis
lative session in the spring, when the survey was conducted.
"You have a contingent of people saying 'stay the course,' a contingent of p
eople saying 'slow down' and a contingent of people saying 'stop,' which is
not dissimilar to the discussion that was happening then. And the place wher
e we wound up was a 'slow down' place."
He said he would like teachers to feel more positively about Common Core, bu
t pointed to anxiety that can be inherent in standards that are more challen
ging. He also noted that teachers who have been through Common Core training
are more likely to feel better about it, according to the same survey.
Recurrent answers
Some 10,000 teachers responded to both the 2013 and 2014 surveys. Among this
group, 27 percent went from a positive to negative view on the effect of Co
mmon Core standards on student learning.
The report rejects any suggestion that the opposition to Common Core is prim
arily the result of teachers' disappointment when it has been tried in the c
lassroom. As evidence: Elementary school and middle school math teachers, wh
o began teaching the standards two years ago, were not likelier than other t
eachers to oppose implementation of Common Core when surveyed this year.
Around 3,000 teachers used an opportunity to express their feelings on Commo
n Core via comments. Several recurrent answers emerged: The standards are to
o difficult and not developmentally appropriate; using the standards for ann
ual teacher evaluations is unfair; standards should be more slowly phased in
; and the standards are not aligned with the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessm
ent Program, the test Tennessee is still using after the legislature's move
to delay switching to the Common Core-aligned Partnership for Assessment of
Readiness for College and Careers.
Others reported that they lack adequate support to teach Common Core - one t
eacher said books and materials haven't been purchased to keep up with the s
tandards. Others groaned that Common Core continues a trend toward too much
testing.
"The Common Core is not the problem," one teacher wrote. "The way we are att
empting to assure compliance with the RIDICULOUS amount of testing is KILLIN
G the joy of learning for our students and completely defeating teachers."
Teresa Wasson, spokeswoman for the Tennessee State Collaborative on Reformin
g Education, the leading Common Core advocacy arm in Tennessee, said the sur
vey results indicate a need to focus on Common Core implementation and teach
er support. She said focus groups put together and tested by SCORE's leaders
have shown that same need.
J.C. Bowman, executive director of Professional Educators of Tennessee, said
new survey results also reflect internal polling of his group that shows te
achers' dissatisfaction with Common Core implementation. He believes Tenness
ee has actually done well on that end, but teachers are giving a clear signa
l:
"I was kind of shocked how many teachers referenced their opposition to Comm
on Core," Bowman said. "I'm starting to see that they're not happy."
-------------------------------------
Reach Joey Garrison at 615-259-8236 and on Twitter @joeygarrison.
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COMMON CORE SUPPORT DECLINES
Teachers were asked: Will teaching to Common Core standards improve student
learning?
39 percent said yes
That's down from 60 percent last year
TEACHERS SAY 'DROP COMMON CORE'
Among 27,000 teachers responding to survey:
56 percent favor abandoning the standards
13 percent want a delay
31 percent say to proceed
Source: Report from Tennessee Consortium on Research, Evaluation, and Develo
pment
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