College and Career Readiness: An EdSource/CTA survey of teachers
This survey by EdSource, in partnership with the California Teachers Association (CTA), provides new insights into teacher attitudes toward preparing students for college and careers, a principal goal of all major education reforms being implemented in California, including the Common Core State Standards.
Of the 1,000 teachers surveyed, 95 percent support setting college and career readiness as the goal for the state’s students. The teachers surveyed also said they felt critical thinking skills are a more important indicator of college readiness than standardized test scores.
But while indicating a high level of support for the Common Core standards, teachers also expressed a need for a clearer definition of what constitutes “college and career readiness” and for greater professional development to support these goals. The survey also found that teachers’ confidence in the attainability of the career and college readiness goals varied based on the socioeconomic background of their students.
Even as the major focus is on preparing students for college, teachers ranked career academies, linked learning or other programs that tie the high school curriculum to a specific career pathway as the resource their school or district needed most.
The teachers surveyed generally responded positively when asked about their job satisfaction, with nearly three-fourths saying they are either “very satisfied” or “fairly satisfied.”
The survey was conducted in April 2015 by the public opinion research firm GBA Strategies on behalf of EdSource and the CTA. College and Career Readiness: An EdSource/CTA survey of teachers | EdSource:
