NJ Education Report

Teachers and the public disagree over other teacher employment policies. . . . Seventy-six percent of the public think that teachers should demonstrate success in raising student achievement before receiving tenure but only 29 percent of teachers share that view. The total elimination of tenure is supported by 72 percent of the public but by only 35 percent of teachers. Teachers are also more skeptical than the public of allowing principals to hire uncertified applicants and more likely to see teacher unions as having a positive effect on local schools. Indeed, on each of these teacher policy issues, a majority of teachers oppose the position taken by a majority of the public.

From “Teachers Versus the Public: What Americans Think about Schools and How to Fix Them,” by Paul E. Peterson, Michael Henderson, and Martin R. West (via Wall St. Journal).