2009 MetLife Survey of the American Teacher: Part 2, Student Achievement

The report examines the views of teachers, principals and students on student goals and aspirations, the influence of teacher expectations and factors educators believe would improve academic success.

It finds that while educators express strong beliefs in the importance of high expectations and high standards for all students, those standards and expectations fall short in practice for many students. According to survey data, there exist significant gaps in teacher and student perceptions about academic success -- particularly in schools serving high proportions of low-income students, among secondary schools and between girls and boys. Nearly 85 percent of teachers, for example, believe they can enable all of their students to succeed academically, yet only 36 percent say that all of their students have the ability to succeed. Half of teachers say students in their school only do enough work to get by, but only 36 percent of students report doing so.

The report is the second in a three-part series, the 2009 MetLife Survey of the American Teacher: Collaborating for Student Success. Conducted each year since 1984, the MetLife Survey of the American Teacher, explores teacher’s opinions and brings them to the attention of the American public and policymakers. The report is based on survey data collected among a national sample of 1,003 public school teachers, 500 principals and 1,018 public school students.

Read the report.