Friday, May 6, 2016

Survey: Nearly half of teachers would quit now for higher-paying job

Survey: Nearly half of teachers would quit now for higher-paying job:

Survey: Nearly half of teachers would quit now for higher-paying job


They may be smiling, America, but your public school teachers are a frustrated bunch.
About six in 10 are losing enthusiasm for the job, and just as many say they spend too much time prepping students for state-mandated tests. Nearly half say they’d quit teaching now if they could find a higher-paying job.
The grim findings come from a wide-ranging survey of K-12 public school teachers released Thursday by the Washington, D.C.-based Center on Education Policy, a centrist think tank. Maria Ferguson, executive director for the center, said the results show teachers are “constantly feeling yanked in a million different directions.”
In all, 3,328 teachers completed the 67-question online survey last fall. Among the findings:
  • 62% of teachers say they spend too much time prepping students for state-mandated tests.
  • 81% of teachers say students spend too much time taking those tests.
  • 60% of teachers say they “don’t seem to have as much enthusiasm now” as when they started teaching.
While 64% say they like their school and are part of “a satisfied group” of teachers, 49% say the stress and disappointments “aren’t really worth it.” And 49% also say they’d leave teaching “as soon as possible” if they could find a higher-paying job.
Some even share similar feelings as their students: 42% of teachers agreed with the statement “I think about staying home from school because I am just too tired to go.”
Frustration with standardized testing apparently goes all the way to the top. In herapplication to become the 2016 National Teacher of the Year, Jahana Hayes, a Waterbury, Conn., high school history teacher honored Tuesday by President Obama at the White House, said keeping schools accountable through tests is important. But students “should be able to articulate what they have learned in innovative and Survey: Nearly half of teachers would quit now for higher-paying job: