84% of Teachers Enthusiastic About Common Core Implementation

The results of a national survey released by Scholastic late last week show that 84% of teachers who have been using the Common Core State Standards for more than a year are enthusiastic about their implementation. More teachers feel better prepared to teach Common Core standards than last year (8% increase), and a greater percentage say implementation is going well (6% increase).

This year’s poll is a follow-up to last year’s in which Scholastic surveyed 20,000 teachers nationwide about the Common Core.  In that poll, 70% of teachers in Massachusetts were enthusiastic about implementation of the standards in the classroom. (This year’s results did not include a state-by-state breakdown.) This finding was consistent with a previous poll of Massachusetts teachers from the Massachusetts Teachers Association and Teach Plus in which 70% who received training said they believe the standards will help their students succeed.

Critical to the success of the learning standards that focus on critical thinking and problem solving skills, is effective implementation and that requires high quality teacher training and professional development.  In the Scholastic survey, teachers said aligned instructional materials (86%), quality professional development (84%) and opportunities to collaborate (78%) are essential to successful implementation.

A Boston Globe Magazine story rightly highlights the need for effective teacher training on the standards.  The story features programs from Teach Plus that are led by teachers. Teach Plus also recently led a workshop on theCommon Core-aligned PARCC exam, which is being piloted in about 60% of Massachusetts districts this school year.

Ensuring the standards are effectively implemented should be the primary focus of the education discussion. MBAE supports teachers, the work they’ve done over the past three years, and the work they continue to do because their professional development is vital to student achievement.