A new RAND report finds that 30% of K-12 teachers believe mandated state learning standards are too difficult for students. Teachers working in low-income districts and those with less experience are more likely to believe state standards are too difficult for their students.
What happens in this classroom?
Pupils have difficulty learning.
The National Council on Teacher Quality takes the following position:
“This finding is troubling. Especially in mathematics, if teachers believe that instructional materials are too difficult for their students, they will spend less time using the materials, which may result in students being below grade level, disconnected, or learning different skills or knowledge. Because you can. It doesn’t even fit with a research-based teaching approach. (It's worth noting that these results do not apply to ELA. However, this may be because less than half of the teachers surveyed reported using required or recommended ELA materials for at least 75% of their classes. That is, It means you've been using other materials for quite some time (a lot of time).”
RAND based its findings on the 2023 American Instructional Resources Survey, which focuses on the use, awareness, and support of instructional materials used in English, math, and science in kindergarten through grade 12 across the United States. I did.
Highlights of the report include:
- Three in 10 K-12 teachers believe that the curriculum materials required or recommended by their school or district are too difficult for most students.
- Teachers in high-poverty schools and less experienced teachers were significantly more likely to report that their materials were too difficult for their students.
- Mathematics teachers who reported that required or recommended materials were too difficult were significantly less likely to use these materials for 75 to 100 percent of classroom instruction time.
- Teachers who reported using required or recommended materials for less than a year were more likely to believe the materials were too difficult for their students.
- Teachers who reported that professional learning helped them use materials to meet student needs were less likely to believe that required or recommended materials were too difficult for their students.