Nearly 4 of every 10 teachers in the United States say their students are not on track to succeed in school, a new poll finds.
on April 29鈥攖akes the pulse of 糖心动漫vlog on a range of topics related to student achievement and teacher job satisfaction.
That concern runs even deeper among certain groups: Roughly 44 percent of middle school teachers and 47 percent of those working in schools with high percentages of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch say their students aren鈥檛 on track to succeed.
鈥淲e have a sense of the types of activities that help teachers feel like their students are ready to succeed, and as you would expect, that involves things like having the materials and equipment that you need to do your work,鈥� said Zach Hrynowski, a senior education researcher at Gallup. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e in a more funded school, you鈥檙e probably less likely to face budgetary constraints to having the materials and equipment you need.鈥�
The report also notes an important correlation between teachers who agree their students are on track to succeed and teachers who feel their students are excited about what they鈥檙e learning. Seventy-six percent of teachers who feel their students are on track can be paired with the 83 percent of teachers who say their students are excited about what they are learning in class.
鈥淪tudents are telling us when their teachers are excited and engaged in the classroom, the students themselves are feeding off of that,鈥� said Hrynowski.
Are cellphones derailing student focus?
Some 糖心动漫vlog suggest cellphones could be at least one big reason why many teachers feel their students are not on track to succeed in school.
Kimberly Smith, a 7th grade science teacher in the Santa Rosa County schools in Florida, told Education Week that she doesn鈥檛 believe kids are prepared for the real world.
Smith added that students鈥� excessive cellphone use has made them less likely to be able to concentrate on learning in class.
鈥淸Students] cannot single task,鈥� said Smith. 鈥淭hey just don鈥檛 have an idea of how to stay focused on one thing, and they鈥檙e so used to things moving at such a high pace that when you start talking, they just tune out.鈥�
Mykel Estes, a reading language arts teacher for the Dallas Independent School District, agrees, although he told Education Week his students are generally on track to succeed in school.
He said it has been harder to get kids to pay attention in school since the pandemic ended. 鈥淪chool brings so much structure and order and what middle schooler isn鈥檛 going to enjoy being at home?鈥� he said. 鈥淭he further we get removed from break-out rooms and Zoom, the easier it鈥檒l become a distant memory.鈥�
Teacher job satisfaction is based on support in the workplace
Two-thirds of K-12 teachers reported feeling satisfied with their workplace, according to the Gallup and Walton Family Foundation survey.
While satisfaction can be attributed to higher pay and manageable workload, 糖心动漫vlog鈥� job satisfaction is also related to the quality of their school leadership and the resources available to them.
鈥淲hat they鈥檙e running into is those resource constraints, leadership constraints, things like that that are more important and predictive in whether they feel like they鈥檙e satisfied at work,鈥� said Hrynowski.
Estes and Smith both said they felt their administrations were supportive of teachers, which made a big difference in their workplaces. 鈥淗aving strong support from your administration is essential, like feeling validated for me is probably one of the most important things they do,鈥� said Smith.
Federal policy changes may test teacher morale
It is a challenging time for teachers as they face external pressures to adapt to changes coming from the White House. On April 23, President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling for teachers to be trained on using artificial intelligence regularly in their classrooms. Trump has also canceled several grants and contracts affecting teacher preparation programs and overall public school funding.
Other policy shifts affecting K-12 education鈥攕uch as the White House ban on diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in public schools鈥攃ould have a trickle-down effect on how teachers feel about their jobs.
The Gallup and Walton Family Foundation poll was conducted in Fall 2024, so there isn鈥檛 data available yet about the effects of the federal changes on teacher satisfaction. But Hrynowski suggests their job satisfaction has more to do with their immediate classroom needs and resources than school characteristics, like if it is a middle school versus a high school.
鈥淚 think [teacher workplace satisfaction] has more to do with what do the on-the-ground conditions look like in these schools,鈥� he said. 鈥淎re teachers more or less likely to have the materials and equipment they need?鈥�
Hrynowski added: 鈥淪o, we do have a number of different mechanisms from both sides of the equation that are telling us [that] making sure teachers are supported and have everything they need to do their job well is really important for the students.鈥�
