Arkansas teachers surveyed recently by University of Arkansas researchers have positive feelings about the Common Core State Standards, though many dislike the student assessment process associated with them.
UA's Office for Education Policy sent a survey invitation to teachers across the state in February seeking their thoughts on Common Core. The survey consisted of 40 questions addressing the impact of Common Core standards on student learning and teacher attitudes toward their work, as well as Common Core implementation and the associated testing.
About the survey
The Office for Education Policy’s teacher survey on Common Core standards sought responses from only those who teach English language arts and/or mathematics in grades three through 12 in one of 60 selected Arkansas school districts. Districts were identified through a stratified, random sampling procedure. Stratification was based on 2013-14 assessment results and district size. Each region of the state was represented in the sample roughly in proportion to its student enrollment.
Source: Office for Education Policy
As of Wednesday, 975 of the 2,795 teachers who received an invitation to participate in the survey responded, according to the Office for Education Policy. That's a response rate of about 35 percent. Arkansas had 33,201 public school teachers as of last school year, according to the Arkansas Department of Education.
Sixty-two percent of those responding said they believe the Common Core State Standards are more helpful than previous standards in preparing students academically.
Asked how Common Core standards would affect students, 46 percent said students would be better off and 28 percent said they would be the same compared to previous standards. Twenty-six percent said students would be worse off.
There are certain districts where the negative attitude toward Common Core is more pervasive than in others, said Sarah McKenzie, executive director of the Office for Education Policy. Another survey finding is those people with more teaching experience tend to be less supportive of Common Core.
"It might be because they feel like they're masters of their craft, and don't think the standards make such a big difference," McKenzie said.
Seventy-three percent of respondents said they are concerned some student populations -- especially those working below grade level, special-education students and English language learners -- will not benefit from Common Core.
Most teachers responding -- 63 percent -- either agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, "The work I've done to implement the Common Core standards has made me a better teacher." At the same time, 74 percent agreed or strongly agreed implementing the standards have made teaching "more stressful" than in earlier years.
The survey also showed great dissatisfaction with the testing associated with Common Core. Eighty-seven percent of teachers responding said they either agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, "I don't like the testing involved with implementing (Common Core)."
McKenzie said she was a little surprised by that result. When asked what they would do differently about assessments, 24 percent said they would give no assessments. Only 11 percent said they would continue with the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) exams, which align with Common Core.
Common Core lays out a set of standards on which curriculum and instruction are based in the state's public schools. Some people in Arkansas and nationwide have complained the lessons based on the standards are too challenging. A state task force appointed by Gov. Asa Hutchinson met for the first time last week to begin studying the issue; it's supposed to make a recommendation later this year.
The Arkansas State Board of Education adopted the Common Core State Standards in 2010. The standards have been phased in by grade levels since then. The PARCC exams were tested in paper form last year and administered in an online format for the first time this year.
The Office for Education Policy has taken a mostly neutral stance on Common Core, though officials there believe it's premature to call for a change, McKenzie said.
Complete survey results can be found on the organization's website at www.OfficeForEducationPolicy.org.
Jason Endacott, an assistant professor of secondary social studies education at the University of Arkansas, is doing his own study of teacher attitudes toward Common Core this year, repeating a survey he did in 2013. He isn't affiliated with the Office for Education Policy.
The data he's received this year show most teachers still favor Common Core, but the majority is definitely down from his survey of two years ago, he said.
"A lot of it is due to the fact that in 2013, Common Core was new, so people may not have known a lot about it or maybe they had higher hopes for it," Endacott said.
Just because most teachers are satisfied with Common Core doesn't necessarily mean it's the best option for Arkansas, he said.
"So I think what we have to be really careful about is comparing what we have now to what we had before," Endacott said, referring to the standards. "We have to look at what we have now and what we could have in the future."
NW News on 05/01/2015