NJ Education Report

Today’s New York Times reports on results from the Metlife Survey of the American Teacher:

The slump in the economy, coupled with the acrimonious discourse over how much weight test results and seniority should be given in determining a teacher’s worth, have conspired to bring morale among the nation’s teachers to its lowest point in more than 20 years, according to a survey of teachers, parents and students released on Wednesday.

More than half of teachers expressed at least some reservation about their jobs, their highest level of dissatisfaction since 1989, the survey found. Also, roughly one in three said they were likely to leave the profession in the next five years, citing concerns over job security, as well as the effects of increased class size and deep cuts to services and programs. Just three years ago, the rate was one in four.

Randi Weingarten, President of the AFT, attributed the loss in morale to the nation’s “fixation on testing.” Other elements certainly in play include the advent of value-added teacher evaluations, higher contributions to pensions and benefits, discussion of the inferiority of American schools and the relatively low bar to acceptance at teacher colleges, and threats to lifetime job security.

Interesting, the report also attributes the loss of morale to increased class sizes. However, see this chart from Jay P. Greene that shows that average class size has fallen significantly. Not a bad thing, though, given the explosion in extra work for teachers engendered by the new focus on student outcomes.