Research | News

Survey: Teachers Don't Think Parents Understand the Common Core

• By Joshua Bolkan
• 10/09/14

More than 95 percent of teachers believe the parents of their students do not understand what the Common Core State Standards are, according to a recent poll of veteran high school teachers in the northeastern United States. No teachers told the surveyors they believed their students' parents knew what the standards were and 4.4 percent said they weren't sure.

The majority of respondents, 42.6 percent, said it was too early to tell if the standards will have a positive or negative effect on student learning. Among those who did express an opinion, 64.7 percent said they "believe that the Common Core Standards are having a negative impact on students, leaving 35.3 percent of teachers that [said they] believe the Common Core is having a positive impact on student learning," according to information released by TutaPoint, the company that conducted the study.

The survey polled teachers, most of whom, at 91 percent, had at least 10 years of experience in the classroom and all of whom had at least five, for their opinions on the Common Core, technology in the classroom and the challenges they face in doing their jobs, among other issues.

More than 59 percent of teachers surveyed said they allow students to use smartphones in the classroom. Among teachers who use smartphones, 44.9 percent said they use an iPhone, 26.9 percent said they use an Android phone, 1.1 percent said they use a Blackberry or Windows phone and 4.4 percent said they use some other smartphone. Just over 22 percent said they use a feature phone and 2,2 percent said they do not use a cell phone at all.

Popular methods for communicating with students included email, which 75.2 percent of respondents said they use, and through a Web site, at a rate of 71.9 percent. Slightly more than 35 percent said they communicate with students via Google Docs and 17.9 percent through text message. Only 3.3 percent indicated they communicate with students using Facebook and the same number said they communicate via Twitter.

Other key findings of the survey include:

• Most teachers, 77 percent, told researchers they believed 30 percent of a student's learning should take place outside the classroom;
• Just over half of respondents, 51.5 percent, said students should spend seven hours on homework each week, and nearly a quarter, 24.6 percent, said students should be doing nine hours of homework each week;
• 64 percent of teachers told surveyors they focus on teaching to underperforming students and only 15.7 percent said they are able to teach across all levels; and
• 17.9 percent of surveyed teachers said they teach to students performing in the middle and just 2.2 percent said they teach to their highest performing students.

For more information visit tutapoint.com.