TENNESSEE, USA — Teachers may have a lot to teach Tennessee about education. A survey was released on Tuesday to give them a chance to voice their opinions and help guide the state's goals and strategies when it comes to teaching students.
The Tennessee Educator Survey will be open until April 10. It asks educators for their opinions on school climate, evaluations, state initiatives, instructional practice and professional learning. This year's survey also includes new topics including teacher pay, mobility and instructional materials.
It is given as part of a partnership between Vanderbilt University and the Tennessee Department of Education, called the Tennessee Education Research Alliance.
“The Educator Survey is a critical tool that gives teachers a voice in the work that researchers do here at Vanderbilt,” Erin O’Hara said in a press release, executive director of the Tennessee Education Research Alliance. “It helps us independently evaluate what policies are working and what changes could be made in Tennessee’s education system.”
According to a release, the survey can be used to help identify areas that may need more funding, such as educator salaries or instructional materials.
A link where teachers can take the survey will be emailed out between Feb. 23 - 29. The results of the survey will be shared with districts and schools that meet or exceed a 45 percent response rate in June. Then, the results will be released to the public on the Tennessee Educator Survey website in August.
Last year, around 62 percent of educators responded to the survey, according to a release from Vanderbilt University.