The conditions teachers face in schools and classrooms, though often overlooked, are essential elements for improving student achievement and teacher retention.  In 2006, the Center for Teaching Quality surveyed more than 150,000 educators in five states.  The perspective of educators provided information schools, districts and states need to better assess whether necessary teaching and learning conditions are in place for teachers to be successful.

CTQ recently released two new reports detailing teacher working conditions and their influence on student achievement and teacher retention in North Carolina and Clark County, Nevada.  The report for Arizona is forthcoming and will be released in the next two weeks.

Analysis from each of these three sites indicates that teacher working conditions are student learning conditions.  For example, in North Carolina, when elementary school teachers agree that class sizes are reasonable, when middle school teachers agree that there is an atmosphere of trust and mutual respect and when high school teachers rate school leadership more positively, schools are significantly more likely to meet or exceed academic growth expectations.

The results also indicate that improving working conditions creates a more stable teaching force.  For example, in Clark County, Nevada, if one-third more elementary teachers in a school agree that there is an atmosphere of trust and mutual respect, a corresponding 10 percent increase in the percentage of teachers wanting to stay in that school could be expected.

Also, the results from all five initiatives (Arizona, Kansas, Nevada, North Carolina and Ohio), indicate considerable gaps between the perceptions of teachers and administrators regarding the presence of key working conditions.  It is not necessarily that principals do not want to address these issues related to time, leadership and teacher empowerment, but that they do not perceive the issues to be as problematic as teachers do.  For full results and data correlations related to these and other trends, along with recommendations for action, please review our detailed findings.

CTQ is developing new tools and highlighting emerging strategies for using the data to achieve results. On January 31, 2007, a national teacher working conditions conference brought together representatives from 14 states and Canada to discuss current and potential initiatives around teaching and learning conditions.

Many of the participants from across the country remained in North Carolina on February 1, as Governor Easley recognized 10 schools for excellence in both teacher working conditions and student achievement.  These Real DEAL (Dedicated Educators Administrators and Learners) schools from across North Carolina shared their insights and experiences in creating the most exemplary working conditions in the state.  You can read narratives describing working conditions in these schools.

The research is informing specific school improvement efforts in low-performing high schools, redesigned high schools, and elementary schools focused on providing teachers with more non-instructional time for planning and collaboration during the school day (link to time brief).

CTQ is partnering with the National Education Association and many of its state affiliates, along with Governor Easley, Governor Napolitano, Governor Sebelius individual school districts, principal associations, superintendent associations and other groups across the country. 

Collectively, CTQ and its partners are building a national movement for schools to use unique data to reform their own schools, retain their teachers and help their students learn at higher levels.