SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT NETWORK®1

18.6%

81.4% 74.7%

0

20

40

60

80

100

25.3%

54.4%

21.4%

24.2%

fig. 1

SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT NETWORK “VOICES OF EDUCATION” SURVEY

Educators Support the Common Core State StandardsNational Survey of Educators Shows Support for the Standards and Confidence in the Positive Impact for Students

Despite early widespread adoption of the Common Core State Standards, recent political efforts

in many states have involved attempts to negate or withdraw from the Common Core State

Standards. Opponents argue the Standards will harm students and the educational system, but a

survey of over 3,077 educators throughout all 50 states shows teachers don’t agree.

Background

In April 2013, School Improvement Network conducted a survey

asking educators nationwide for their opinion of the Common Core

State Standards and the potential impact on students. 3,077 educators

from all 50 states responded, including 65.2% of teachers and 20.3% of

administrators in grades K-12 in rural, urban, and suburban settings,

with all levels of experience in teaching from first-year teachers to

20+ years.

The 17-item survey included eight yes/no questions, six Likert ques-

tions, one multiple choice question, and two “mark all that apply”

questions. Of responding educators, 91.3% work in states that have

voted to incorporate the Standards, and 75.3% of all respondents say

students will be tested on the subject matter they teach as part of

the Standards.

Do Educators Support the Common Core State Standards?

Overall, survey results show that educators, particularly administra-

tors, support the Common Core State Standards and believe they will

be beneficial for students and the educational system.

Of the 91.3% responding educators who live in states that have voted

to incorporate the Standards, 74.7% say they support this adoption

(see Figure 1). While both administrators and teachers showed overall

support for the Standards, administrators are slightly more support-

ive than teachers, wherein 85.8% of administrators say they support

adoption, compared with 70.5% of teachers (p<0.001) . Even among

educators responding in states that have not yet voted to incorpo-

rate the Standards, more than half of all educators, including 58.8%

of administrators and 52.7% of teachers (p<0.001), say they would

support adoption.

1. The statistical significance of every contrast was evaluated and reported throughout in

p-values. Significance with a sample of 3,000+ is reached with as small a difference as 0.15%.

Educator Support of Common Core State Standard Adoption

Do not support

support

SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT NETWORK®2

Combined, 57.9% of responding educators say an education system

based on common standards shared between states is necessary

to prepare all students for college and career, including 65.3% of

administrators and 54.5% of teachers (p<0.001).

Although the majority of educators favor the Common Core State

Standards, 79.0% think the Standards have become overly political

(76.6% of administrators and 79.2% of teachers) (p<0.001). While

70.4% of all educators say they do not support recent efforts by

political groups and other organizations to remove the Standards,

administrators feel particularly strong on the issue. Of responding

administrators, 82.2% oppose such political efforts, along with 65.7%

of teachers (p<0.001).

How Will the Common Core Standards Impact Students and Educators?

81.4% of educators say the Standards will have an overall positive

impact on students’ preparation towards college and career (see

Figure 2). Of that, 52.8% say the Standards would have a “very positive

impact” or “positive impact” on students’ preparation for college and

career. Only 9.3% of responding educators say the Standards would

have a “negative impact” or “very negative impact.” When analyzed by

professional position, 89.1% of administrators and 78.0% of teach-

ers believe the Standards will have a positive impact on students

(p<0.001).

Educator Beliefs About the Impact of the Common Core State Standards on Students

When considering the ramifications of the Standards on educators,

57.9% of educators collectively believe the Standards would either

increase or have no effect on their current level of freedom and

flexibility, including 52.1% of teachers and 71.2% of administrators

(p<0.001).

Are Educators Ready to Implement the Common Core Standards?

Despite the relatively new nature of the Standards, educators as a

whole say they feel confident in their ability to make the instructional

shifts outlined by the Standards. 77.9% say they feel confident in their

ability to incorporate the Standards, including 84.4% of administra-

tors and 76.1% of teachers (p<0.001).

Survey results also show that the type of training educators receive on

the Standards impacts the level of confidence they feel in their ability

to implement them. In response to a “mark all that apply” question

about types of training available, 37.6% of educators report having

been offered workshops, 31.7% received reading materials, and 17.4%

say they have been offered online courses or professional develop-

ment. 7.1% say they have been offered other types of training, and 6.2%

say they have been given no training. 53.6% of educators have received

more than one form of these training methods, and 27.5% say they

have received three or more. Based on this training, 67.2% of educators

feel their training has been sufficient to ensure proper understanding

of the Standards, and 61.2% feel it has been sufficient to implement

the Standards.

In terms of preparation to apply the Standards, the highest per-

centages of educators who say their training was sufficient to both

understand and implement the Standards were those who received

online courses or professional development (see Figure 3, Table 1).

85.8% of educators who received such training say it was sufficient to

understand the Standards, and 81.7% say it was sufficient to implement

them. Not surprisingly, 88.8% of educators who received this type of

training say they feel confident in their ability to make the instruc-

tional shifts defined by the Standards.

18.6%

81.4% 74.7%

0

20

40

60

80

100

25.3%

54.4%

21.4%

24.2%

fig. 2

positive impact

negative impact

SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT NETWORK®3

tab. 1 Educator Perceptions of the Quality of Available Training Resources

sufficient to unDerstanD the

stanDarDs

sufficient to implement the

stanDarDs

confiDence in ability to make shifts DefineD

by stanDarDs

online courses or professional

Development85.8% 81.7% 88.8%

workshops 81.1% 74.3% 85.2%

reaDing materials 78.4% 70.7% 84.0%

How Do Parents and Community Members Feel about the Common Core State Standards?

While some strong-voiced interest groups indicate widespread public

distaste for the Standards, responding educators say the feedback

they have received from parents and community members does not

mirror such negative perspectives. Instead, educator insight reveals

that parents and other members of the community have not been

given sufficient information to properly understand the Standards,

and of the limited resources that have been provided, very few parents

and community members have used these resources to fully educate

themselves on the Standards and their potential impact.

Only 21.4% of educators (one in five) say they have received negative

feedback from parents and the community about the Standards

(see Figure 4). 24.2% of educators (one in four) say they have received

positive feedback about the Standards, and 54.4% of educators

(p<0.001) say they have received no feedback at all (p<0.001).

Parent and Community Feedback on the Common Core

State Standards

95.8% of educators say their school or system offers some type of

resource to help parents and community members understand the

Standards. The most commonly offered resources were an explana-

tion by local educators or the school system (25.5%) or reading mate-

rials (23.7%). For more information on resources offered and their

estimated utilization by parents and community members, see Table 2.

18.6%

81.4% 74.7%

0

20

40

60

80

100

25.3%

54.4%

21.4%

24.2%

fig. 4

18.6%

81.4% 74.7%

0

20

40

60

80

100

25.3%

54.4%

21.4%

24.2%

fig. 3online courses

or professional Development

workshops reaDing material

Types and Frequencies of Educator Training on the Common Core State Standards

negative feeDback

positive feeDback

no feeDback

SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT NETWORK®4

Yet despite the abundance of informative options, educators say these

explanatory resources have been both insufficient and underutilized

for helping parents and community members understand the Stan-

dards. 81.9% of educators say these resources have not been sufficient

to help parents and community members clearly understand the Stan-

dards. Teachers in particular feel the resources have been insufficient,

with 84.2%, and 77.8% of administrators are in agreement (p<0.001).

In addition, most educators say what resources are offered are

underutilized by parents and community members. 74.6% of educa-

tors estimate that less than 25% of parents and community members

have utilized any of the designated resources.

Among resources utilized, educators say workshops or lectures were

the most popular, estimating that 12% of parents or community mem-

bers used them. Educators also say workshops or lectures were the

most sufficient of the available resources to properly understand the

Standards (49.4%). However, only 5.9% of educators say workshops or

lectures were available to parents and community members near their

school. By contrast, educators say the most available resource to par-

ents and community members, an explanation by a local educator or

the school system, available in 25.5% of schools, was the least utilized

at only 5.3% of parents and community member participation, and the

least sufficient of all available resources to properly understand the

Standards. Only 22.4% of educators say such explanations

are sufficient.

tab. 2 Common Core Resources and Utilization by Parents

resources offereD to community

estimateD utilization

sufficient to unDerstanD the

stanDarDs

explanation by local eDucator or

school system25.5% 5.3% 22.4%

informational meeting 17.0% 9.0% 38.5%

other online materials 12.0% 6.7% 28.4%

reaDing materials 23.7% 7.4% 29.1%

school-DevelopeD web page 11.7% 7.0% 33.6%

workshop or lecture 5.9% 12.0% 49.4%

Conclusion

A survey of 3,077 educators from all 50 states shows the majority of

educators support the incorporation of the Common Core State

Standards and feel they will have a beneficial impact on students being

prepared for college and career. Educators say the Standards have

become overly political, and they do not support recent attempts by

political groups to negate them. The majority of educators also say

they have received sufficient training to understand and implement

the Standards and feel confident in their ability to make the instruc-

tional shifts required by them. Among the various training methods,

educators who have received online courses or professional devel-

opment felt especially confident in their knowledge of the Standards

and their ability to implement them. The majority of educators also

agree that parents and community members have not been provided

sufficient information to clearly understand the Standards, and what

information has been provided has been underutilized.