Today’s teachers face a slate of bold reforms: new and improved evaluation systems, professional development, tenure laws, and hiring, compensation, and dismissal policies. But far too often, these policies have been made by people who talk about teachers, rather than talking to them.
In Trending Toward Reform, a follow-up to 2007’s Waiting to Be Won Over,Education Sector, “an independent think tank,” surveyed a nationally representative random sample of more than 1,100 K-12 public school teachers. Here are the top five findings:
1. Teachers want the union to protect them.
2. But the union should also engage in reform.
3. Teacher evaluation is improving—but still not good enough.
4. Teachers show strong support for some pay proposals.
5. Tenure is a must—but shouldn’t prevent ineffective teachers from being dismissed.
