Teachers say parents now less involved in kids’ education

A majority of veteran educators say they are teaching more students who have behavioral problems and are living in poverty now than they were at the outset of the careers.

The preliminary results of a Gates Foundation survey of 10,000 public school teachers show that 62 percent of teachers who have been at their school for more than 5 years say their students' behavioral problems have grown worse. More than half say there is more poverty in their school, and 47 percent say families are less involved in their children's education.

Despite these challenges, 89 percent of teachers surveyed said they were either satisfied or very satisfied with their careers.

The teachers also weighed in on the issue of pay--a hot topic in the education reform debate. Seventy-five percent of teachers said that higher salaries are essential or important to retaining good teachers. But when asked to list factors by how important they were in retaining teachers, higher salaries landed 11th out of 15. The teachers in the poll listed good principals, support from students' families, and professional development ahead of pay in their list of priorities.

Most teachers rejected the idea of receiving bonuses or professional evaluations based on their students' standardized test scores. Only 36 percent of teachers say they should be evaluated based on such scores, while 26 percent said merit pay for teachers would help lift students' achievement. Only 16 percent said merit pay would help keep good teachers in the classroom.

The full results of the survey will be released in January.