California Voter Views of the Shortage of Teachers in K-­‐12 Schools and Policies Aimed at Addressing the Problem – A statewide survey conducted for – EdSource and the Learning Policy Ins�tute – by – The Field Poll October 2015 About the Survey Popula�on surveyed:
California registered voters. Method of data collec�on:
Live telephone interviews conducted by The Field Poll in its late September – early October 2015 statewide survey. Sampling method:
Voters selected at random from lists derived from the state’s official voter rolls. Languages of administra�on: English and Spanish. Sample size:
1,002 registered voters statewide. Interviewing period:
September 17 – October 4, 2015 EdSource 1 Learning Policy Ins�tute Graph 1 How serious is California’s shortage of public school teachers? Total No opinion 3% 11% Not serious 22% Somewhat serious % Very serious 64% Party registra�on Democrats Republicans No party preference/
other 73% 48% 66% Gender Male 64% Very serious Female 60% 68% Race/ethnicity White non-­‐Hispanic La�no African American* * Small sample base. EdSource Asian/Pacific Islander 2 57% 72% 82% 68% Learning Policy Ins�tute Graph 2 How important is it for the state to do more to encourage young people and others to enroll in teacher prep programs? Total 2% No opinion Not import
ant 7% 26% Somewhat important % Extremely important 65% Party registra�on Democrats Republicans No party preference/
other 76% 49% 64% Gender Male 65% Extremely important Female 59% 70% Race/ethnicity White non-­‐Hispanic La�no African American* * Small sample base. EdSource Asian/Pacific Islander 3 57% 74% 80% 70% Learning Policy Ins�tute Graph 3 Voter reac�on to two proposals aimed at dealing with the state teacher shortage Oppose strongly 2% No opinion Oppose somewhat 8% 5% 27% Favor somewhat 4% No opinion Oppose strongly 26% 14% Favor strongly 30% Favor somewhat 58% Favor strongly Oppose somewhat 26% Allow schools to hire individuals who have not yet completed their training or earned a teaching creden�al Increase the number of teachers by having the state forgive a por�on of college loans or offering scholarships* * If the teacher teaches at least 4 years in a low-­‐income community or in a subject where there is a shortage. EdSource 4 Learning Policy Ins�tute Graph 4 How important is it for the state to do each of the following to ensure that there are more high-­‐quality teachers in the K-­‐12 schools? Extremely important Ensure all teachers receive rigorous training and prepara�on before they begin teaching Require that teachers receive ongoing professional development a�er they receive their teaching creden�als Somewhat important 65% 29% 5% 62% 30% 6% 59% Ensure that new teachers receive mentoring and support so they don't leave teaching within a few years 31% 8% Provide opportuni�es for prospec�ve teachers to receive a year of prac�ce teaching under the guidance of an expert teacher EdSource Not important 51% 37% 11% 5 Learning Policy Ins�tute Graph 5 How serious a problem is it that public schools in low-­‐income communi�es have fewer fully qualified teachers than those in wealthier areas? Total No opinion 3% Not serious 8% 23% Somewhat serious % Very serious 66% Party registra�on Democrats Republicans No party preference/
other 75% 50% 69% Gender Male 66% Very serious Female 60% 72% Race/ethnicity White non-­‐Hispanic La�no African American* * Small sample base. EdSource Asian/Pacific Islander 6 61% 73% 82% 67% Learning Policy Ins�tute Graph 6 Are the star�ng salaries of qualified K-­‐12 teachers in your own local community too high, too low or about right? Total % Too low 58% Party registra�on Democrats Republicans No party preference/
other 21% Don’t know 3% Too hig
h 18% About right 66% 44% 61% Gender 58% Too low Male Female 52% 64% Race/ethnicity White non-­‐Hispanic La�no African American* * Small sample base. EdSource Asian/Pacific Islander 7 53% 62% 73% 63% Learning Policy Ins�tute Graph 7 How important is it for school districts to offer entry-­‐level teachers star�ng salaries that are comparable to what is being offered to other new college graduates? Total 4% No opinion 51% Party registra�on Democrats Not import
ant 8% 37% Somewhat important % Extremely important Republicans No party preference/
other 51% Extremely important 63% 36% 49% Gender Male Female 45% 57% Race/ethnicity White non-­‐Hispanic La�no * Small sample base. EdSource 47% 54% African American* 57% Asian/Pacific Islander 59% 8 Learning Policy Ins�tute Graph 8 How important is it for the state’s teaching force to be racially, ethnically and linguis�cally diverse? Total 2% No opinion % Extremely important 46% Party registra�on Democrats Republicans No party preference/
other 21% Not important 31% Somewhat important 46% Extremely important 60% 30% 42% Gender Male Female 39% 53% Race/ethnicity White non-­‐Hispanic La�no 35% 63% African American* * Small sample base. EdSource Asian/Pacific Islander 9 73% 45% Learning Policy Ins�tute Graph 10 How likely would you be to encourage a friend or family member to become a K-­‐12 teacher in California today? % Likely Very 2% No opinion Total Age 11% Not at all likely 34% Very likely 17% Not too likely 36% Somewhat likely EdSource 10 36 70% 18-­‐29 24 39 63% 30-­‐39 26 37 63% 40-­‐49 34 38 72% 50-­‐64 39 35 74% 65 or older Gender 43 32 75% Male 32 Female 36 Race/ethnicity White non-­‐Hispanic 31 35 34 44 African American* 51 21 67% 37 La�no Asian/Pacific Islander * Small sample base. 34 Somewhat 73% 65% 34 78% 28 79% 48 69% Learning Policy Ins�tute