Another survey of teachers shows drooping morale and a sense of fatigue.

A prior survey by the Georgia Department of Education found tens of thousands of teachers across the state complaining about student testing and the use of the results in their job evaluations.

Now this latest survey, by Educators First, a small teacher advocacy group from Cobb County, echoes those results, with 81 percent of the 2,340 respondents saying the evaluation system is unfair.

It’s a small sample, with less than half the group’s members responding, but those who did had some clear messages: a whopping 99 percent answered “true” when asked if the teaching profession is “under attack;” 72 percent wouldn’t recommend teaching as a profession, and most said they’d leave if they could.

The answer to one question echoes comments by lawmakers under the Gold Dome during legislative hearings this week: four of five teachers surveyed want an appeals process as part of their evaluation system. Members of the state House of Representatives brought up that same issue in a House Education committee hearing where Senate Bill 364, which would reduce the use of tests in evaluations, was on the agenda.

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Wade Roberts (center), a Decatur parent with children in three of the city schools, addresses concerns  with the possibility of a K-2 school closing. (Daniel Varnado for the AJC)

Credit: Daniel Varnado/For the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

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Rose Scott signals as Closer Look goes on air in the WABE studio. An Atlanta resident left WABE a $3 million donation, a boost after WABE lost $1.9 million in annual funding from the Corporation of Public Broadcasting. (Ben Gray / AJC file)

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