Primary Sources: America’s Teachers on Teaching in an Era of Change
Based on a survey of more than 20,000 teachers nationwide, this report found that an increasing number of teachers feel prepared to teach the Common Core (75% in 2013 compared to 59% in 2011). However, 76% of teachers said that they “require additional planning time, with a similar number pointing to a need for quality CCSS-based professional development (71%). Sixty-seven percent of teachers said that they need guidance and ideas for teaching in an inquiry-based way, while about six in 10 say that they need CCSS-aligned curricula and more information on the content of the CCSS-aligned assessments that are being developed (59%). According to the report, 57% of teachers think that the Common Core will have an overall positive impact on students, with 43% saying the standards will make no difference or will have a negative impact on students. An update was published in 2014.
This resource provides a very nice synopsis of the research findings at the beginning of the document. For readers who want to understand a particular aspect of teachers’ opinions and experiences, the remainder of the report presents the information with very user-friendly graphics and accessible text.