Georgia teachers have had an evolving opinion on the national set of academic standards called Common Core, which the state adopted in 2010.
A 2010 survey of 355 educators taken in 2010 found:
- 78 percent said the second-grade math standards were not clearly written, focused on key content and appropriately rigorous
- 83 percent said the fourth-grade math standards were not clearly written, focused on key content and appropriately rigorous
- 61 percent said the kindergarten through fifth-grade reading standards were not clearly written, focused on key content and appropriately rigorous
A 2013 survey taken for the state Board found:
- 74 percent of K-5 teachers said the English/language arts standards were clear, coherent and age-appropriate
- 74 percent of K-5 teachers said the math standards were clear, coherent and age-appropriate
- 62 percent of middle and high school teachers said the math standards were clear, coherent and age-appropriate
A 2013 survey taken for the Professional Association of Georgia Educators found:
- 75 percent of educators said they were supportive or very supportive of Common Core
- 85 percent said Common Core was important or very important
Sources: Georgia Department of Education; Professional Association of Georgia Educators
Georgia teachers have moved from significant apprehension about Common Core academic standards three years ago to strong support for them now, according to polling of thousands of teachers released to The Atlanta Journal Constitution.
Surveys conducted last fall for the state Board of Education and for the state’s largest education trade group, the Professional Association of Georgia Educators offer a glimpse into the thinking of teachers on a topic that has become a fiery point of contention in Georgia and across the country. The political dimensions of the debate have largely muted individual educators. A clear understanding of teacher views could have an impact on Common Core legislation still being debated at the Capitol.
Education officials say the evolving opinions captured in the surveys reflect frustration with being asked to teach to an ever-changing set of standards. Georgia went to the new Common Core standards in 2010, five years after it had crafted another set of standards called the Georgia Performance Standards.
New standards mean new curriculum and, often, new teaching methods.
“Just when teachers were at the crux of full training and have solid content management of GPS, it changed on them,” said Tracey-Ann Nelson, director of government relations for the Georgia Association of Educators. “Teachers have now gone through another couple years of transition to Common Core, and are again at a place where they have invested time, development and coaching on Common Core and are now feeling comfortable.”
Legislation that has passed the Georgia Senate would prohibit the state from testing students on material tied to any set of national standards. That legislation, Senate Bill 167, is scheduled to be discussed by the House Education Committee on Wednesday.
Moving away from Common Core would be a mistake, said Jennifer Hall, an eighth-grade math teacher in Cherokee County who has 27 years of experience in education.
She said legislators should not dictate curriculum and standards.
“Just as I wouldn’t want my insurance agent making decisions about what type of surgery I need, I don’t want legislators making curriculum and standards decisions,” Hall said. “I believe teachers need to have a seat at the head table when these types of decisions are made.”
The state Board of Education voted to move to Common Core in July 2010, four months after its survey of 355 educators found strong reservations about the new standards.
Math, reading and writing standards were of particular concern, the survey showed. Anonymous comments underscored some of the frustration and apprehension educators felt at the time.
“The standards are expecting teachers to be miracle workers,” one of those surveyed said. “There isn’t enough time in a school year to master all of these standards.”
Said another: “I feel like I just got a hang of the new GPS standards and what is being asked of the students and now we are going to change yet again. I find the standards hard to read and very unclear as to what is going to be assessed.”
State Sen. William Ligon, the Brunswick Republican who introduced SB 167, said teachers should have had a louder voice in the decision to go to Common Core. His legislation would establish an advisory panel to review the findings of the state Board of Education, which has been ordered by Gov. Nathan Deal to study whether Georgia should remain in Common Core.
Initially, SB 167 did not call for teachers to be on the advisory panel, but the legislation was changed to include three teachers.
“If this process had been in place in 2010, I believe it would have been a different story with Common Core,” Ligon said.
Georgia is one of more than 40 states that have adopted Common Core, which has drawn opposition from tea party activists and others as a federal intrusion into state control of K-12 public education. Opponents have also argued that the Common Core standards are weaker than the standards used before.
Common Core supporters say the standards require a deeper understanding of academic material and harmonize when students across the country are introduced to that material.
Hall said she has not found curriculum tied to the new standards to be age-inappropriate, a consistent complaint from Common Core opponents.
“I absolutely support Common Core and would like to remain in it,” she said.
A pair of surveys taken last fall found that many educators in Georgia now share Hall’s view.
Both surveys reached much larger groups of teachers than the 355 polled in 2010. The state board survey got responses from 7,558 elementary school teachers and 4,667 from middle and high school teachers. PAGE got responses from 4,000 teachers.
Each survey found large majorities in support of the Common Core standards.
Usually, when audiences pack legislative hearing rooms to discuss the topic, few of those speaking up are teachers.
“Teachers are busy teaching,” PAGE spokesman Tim Callahan said. “Most educators are not political activists.”
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