Teachers Polled Around Testing, NCLB

New survey is out from the AFT.  They asked "a representative sample" of teachers a series of questions about teaching and current trends in education.

Full results appear in the publication American Educator, Summer 2008, Volume 32, Number 2 or can be accessed here.

No big surprises.  The number of teachers who think NCLB has been positive for public education has dropped to 10%.  Those who think it has had a negative overall effect now stand at 64%.

Similarly, those who think there is too much testing and too much test prep has jumped to 70%.

And, to top this all off, the one thing that most teachers agree is not going well with the profession is the "level of stress":  fully 75% of teachers believe stress is at unsatisfactory levels.

All of this points to the reality that teaching, once considered a stable, healthy and satisfying profession, now has become a whipping post for politicians and pundits, loaded up with stress and testing requirements that make conditions miserable for students and teachers alike.

No real surprise.  But, the point is, if you really want poor results in public education, high dropout rates, increased student disaffection with learning, high teacher attrition and also to attract fewer high quality aspirants to your field, just keep going in the current direction.

We can run public schools over the cliff.  We're headed that way now. 

But, at least one union head, Randi Weingarten, former head of the New York Teachers Local, has heard the message.  This week, upon her election, Ms. Weingarten proclaimed NCLB, "unfixable" and demanded a new direction, new priorities and a new vision for public education.

It's been a long time coming, but it seems that, finally, some leaders are listening to the concerns of those who do the actual work in education. And, "amen" to that.