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We just released our latest statewide opinion poll, revealing strong consensus among district school teachers for education reforms that support effective teaching, as well as aligning tenure attainment and school staffing decisions with effectiveness in the classroom.
Strong themes in our poll include striving for greater accountability and effective teaching. One respondent, a district teacher, shared: “We need to welcome the opportunity to improve our profession and help students learn better. We need to be held accountable.”
Click here for the executive summary
Click here for the full poll results
Top-line poll results include:
- 83 percent of respondents think that teacher effectiveness should play a role in determining whether or not a teacher receives tenure.
- 74 percent say that teacher effectiveness should play a role in determining when a teacher receives tenure.
- Nearly two-thirds of teachers, or 63 percent, who have taught between one and 20 years believe effectiveness should be the primary consideration in layoff decisions.
- Nearly 90 percent of respondents agree teacher evaluations that align with and help drive professional development opportunities for teachers will help advance student learning.
Minn. teachers are committed to bringing more accountability to the profession and striving for highly effective teaching so all kids can benefit from a quality public school experience. Our conversations with teachers–from town hall meetings to one-on-one conversations–told us such, but it’s certainly reaffirming to see from a quantitative lens how droves of teachers articulate strong enthusiasm for increased efforts to make sure all kids have access to great teachers.
About our poll
We commissioned the random sampling of 400 current K-12 Minnesota district school teachers to gather comprehensive beliefs and values on effective teaching, teacher and principal evaluations, tenure, Q comp and professional development, and teacher layoff practices. Padilla Speer Beardsley conducted the 28-question poll online between Nov. 8 and Nov. 30, 2012. The survey primarily consisted of multiple-choice questions, with six additional open-ended questions to uncover the attitudes and motivations behind respondents’ choices.
Respondents were geographically representative of the state of Minnesota, with 60 percent of respondents teaching in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area versus 40 percent teaching in Greater Minnesota. Of the respondents who disclosed their political affiliation, 41 percent were affiliated with the Democratic Party, versus 14 percent Independent and 13 percent Republican–no significant geographical differences were observed. Respondents also tended to be more experienced teachers, with 80 percent at 10 years or more of experience, and the largest proportion of respondents in the 45-54 age category.
The margin of error was +/-4.9 percent.