Teachers say in survey that good leadership is more important than pay

 

Supportive leadership is more likely to keep effective teachers in the classroom than higher pay, according to a teacher survey sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation along with Scholastic. Teachers also said they valued "relevant" professional development, safe working conditions and having time to collaborate with other educators.

The survey, released March 4, also shows that teachers have mixed feelings about proposals for new academic standards: Slightly more than half think that establishing common standards across all states would have a strong or very strong impact on student achievement, but two-thirds believe the rigor of standards in their own state is "about right."

America's Teachers on America's Schools is the beginning of an ongoing dialogue with America’s teachers. Download the full report and view a presentation of the findings.

Among the survey's findings:

• To retain good teachers, 68 percent called supportive leadership "absolutely essential," 45 percent said the same of higher salaries and 8 percent listed performance pay. Many of those surveyed also described "relevant" professional development as essential, along with "clean and safe" working conditions, time for teachers to collaborate and access to high-quality curriculum. In addition, 71 percent said monetary rewards for teacher performance would have moderate or no impact on student achievement.
• Fifty-nine percent said establishing common standards across states would have a strong or very strong impact on achievement, and 73 percent said clearer academic standards would produce such benefits. But 69 percent said the rigor of their own state's standards was "about right," and teachers were nearly evenly split on whether their own state has "too many standards" or "the right amount."
• Just over half of those responding called state and district tests somewhat important for measuring academic achievement, and more than one-quarter called them very important or essential.

Source: The Washington Post, 3.3.10

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