Fwd: [ARN-state] teachers network survey finds most teachers say NCLB ineffective

[Susan Harman <susanharman@igc.org>]

Begin forwarded message:

  From: "Monty Neill" <monty@fairtest.org>

  Date: Tue Apr 3, 2007 2:57:44 PM US/Pacific

  To: <care@yahoogroups.com>, "arn2-strategy" <arn2-strategy@yahoogroups.com>,
  "ARN-L" <arn-l@interversity.org>, <ARN-state@yahoogroups.com>,
  "RScriticalteach" <RScriticalteach@lists.execpc.com>,
  <ndsgroup@yahoogroups.com>

  Subject: [ARN-state] teachers network survey finds most teachers say NCLB
  ineffective

  Reply-To: ARN-state@yahoogroups.com

  CONTACT:                                                 
                     FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

  Ellen Meyers, Senior Vice President

  (212) 966-5582 emeyers@teachersnetwork.orgArial

  Evan Losow, Program Associate

  (212) 966-5582 elosow@teachersnetwork.orgArial

  Survey Reveals that Only 1% of Teachers Find No Child Left Behindan

  Effective Way to Assess the Quality of Schools and

  69% Report It’s Pushing Teachers Out of the Profession

  April 2007—Over 5600 public school teachers from all 50 states recently
  responded to a Teachers Network online survey regarding the effectiveness of
  No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and its impact on the teaching and schools.

  Survey results show how for the majority of teachers the emphasis of NCLB on
  high-stakes testing is not working.  Only 37% of respondents found
  standardized tests “somewhat useful” but 42% deemed them “not at all” helpful
  to their teaching.  Over40% claim that these tests are encouraging them to
  use rote drill, and 44% report that the tests are pushing them to eliminate
  curriculum material not tested. 

  Over 40% believe that NCLB does not result in teachers making instructional
  decisions that are best for their students or that it’s helping to reduce the
  achievement gap in education—its primary goal.  And fewer (3%) agree that it
  encourages them to improve their teaching effectiveness with all students. 
  Fewer still (1%) find it is an effective way to assess the quality of schools

  Three-quarters of the teachers surveyed reported experiencing a great deal of
  pressure from NCLB to improve students’ test scores due to NCLB, coming from
  the top down. Among the forces exerting pressure on teachers to improve
  student scores are state departments of education (60%), district
  administrators (57%), newspapers and other media (43%), and principals (39%).
  Only 10% said they felt pressure from parents. 

  What will be of real concern to policymakers will be our findings regarding
  teacher retention:  69% of survey respondents  “strongly agree” that NCLB
  with its Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) goals has contributed to teacher
  burnout.

  The respondents were evenly distributed across the grade levels from
  kindergarten through 12th grade. Slightly more than half of the survey takers
  (52.2%) were not from a school that has been identified as one in need of
  improvement in any academic area and/or with any disaggregated population of
  students.  Teacher respondents ranged from

  1-3 years experience (17.2%) to teachers with 25 or more years (16.5%). 
  One-fifth of the teachers who responded have been teaching between 6-10
  years. 

  “As we look at this data,” explains Professor Frances Rust of the New York
  University Steinhardt School of Education, “it seems very clear that from the
  teachers' perspective, NCLB is a top down mandate about which they feel
  greatest pressure for their students to pass high-stakes tests coming from
  their district administrators.  This deprofessionalizes the teaching force,
  pushing teachers towards rote instruction that bypasses curriculum areas that
  are not tested and minimizes teachers' efforts to be responsive to the
  specific needs of learners in their classrooms.”

  According to William J. Cirone, Superintendent of Santa Barbara County
  Schools and Chairman, Teachers Network Board of Trustees, “Teachers have
  always been concerned about accountability and authentic assessment but the
  survey shows that this law really misses the mark on exactly what it is
  supposed to be targeting—and the unintended consequence is more teachers are
  leaving because of the law.

  The survey and survey data are available at www.teachersnetwork.org.Arial 

  Arial

  About Teachers Network

  Teachers Network is a non-profit organization—by teachers, for teachers—with
  a 26-year track record of success, dedicated to improving student learning in
  public schools nationally and internationally. Teachers Network is unique in
  its focus on professional development as the key to improving student
  achievement. Using the power of an award-winning web site, videos, and print
  resources, Teachers Network leverages the creativity and expertise of a
  national and international community of outstanding educators. Through its
  leadership, Teachers Network empowers teachers to transform public schools
  into creative learning communities. For more information about Teachers
  Network, go to www.teachersnetwork.org.Arial

  ###Arial

  Ellen Meyers

  Senior Vice President

  Teachers Network

  285 West Broadway, #200

  New York,NY 10013-2272

  Tel: (212) 966-5582

  Fax: (212) 941-1787

  emeyers@teachersnetwork.org

  www.teachersnetwork.org

  Monty Neill, Ed.D.

  Co-Executive Director

  FairTest

  342 Broadway

  Cambridge, MA 02139

  617-864-4810    fax 617-497-2224

  monty@fairtest.org

  http://www.fairtest.org

  Donate: https://secure.entango.com/servlet/donate/MnrXjT8MQqk

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