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Friday, July 25, 1997

Teachers don't like some things, but 70 percent satisfied

By PEGGY FIKAC / Associated Press Writer

AUSTIN (AP) - They want higher salaries, don't like the statewide student test and are concerned about school discipline. But 70 percent of educators in a survey released Thursday expressed satisfaction with their jobs.

"This distinct contrast suggests that while things are far from perfect, educators are educators by choice. We teach because we love the art of imparting knowledge," said high school teacher Larry Davis, president of the Association of Texas Professional Educators.

The educator group, in conjunction with the University of Texas at Austin Office of Survey Research, surveyed a random sample of its 80,000 members in a questionnaire mailed May 12.

Of 1,200 educators mailed surveys, 51 percent responded. The margin of error is plus or minus four percentage points. Of those responding, 80 percent were classroom teachers. The group also includes administrators and support personnel.

An unexpected finding was the teacher satisfaction rate, said Davis, who teaches math in Connally Independent School District on the outskirts of Waco.

"It is surprising that a lot of teachers now are happy with their working conditions," he said. "In the past, there have been a lot of complaints about working conditions."

Davis said building and renovation in school district, plus a system to give teachers more input in how their campuses are run, may have contributed to their satisfaction.

The survey found 29 percent of educators were very satisfied with their working conditions, and 44 percent somewhat satisfied. Asked for an overall assessment regarding their current job, 24 percent called themselves very satisfied and 46 percent somewhat satisfied.

But they also had concerns about:

- Salaries, with 54 percent calling themselves either somewhat (36 percent) or very (18 percent) dissatisfied.

Beginning teacher salaries in Texas are expected to be $21,050 this year, compared with $25,700 nationally, Davis said. After 20 years, he said, the comparison is $37,460 in Texas and $51,200 nationally.

- School discipline. Fifty-nine percent said school violence had increased in their school districts - although 89 percent said they felt very (47 percent) or somewhat (42 percent) safe in their own schools.

Ten percent said they had been physically attacked by a student in the past two years.

Asked about a 1995 law designed to give teachers more authority over classroom discipline, 37 percent said it gives teachers the necessary power; 42 percent said it doesn't; and 25 percent didn't know.

- The Texas Assessment of Academic Skills. Asked whether they agreed with a statement that TAAS has been a positive thing for public schools, 73 percent disagreed. Asked about a statement saying the TAAS is an adequate way to measure academic performance, 69 percent disagreed.

TAAS supporters say it provides a way to ensure students are being taught what they need to know and gives accountability at a time of increasing local control of schools. Student passing rates on the test are a key part of the state system that assesses whether schools are performing at an acceptable level.

Doug Rogers, executive director of ATPE, said its members recognize the need for a standardized test. But he added, "We want to make sure that what they (students) need and what they are expected to do match, so we can be accountable for that."

Changes are likely to be made in the TAAS in about two years to reflect an overhaul of the school curriculum, which starts being implemented in the 1998-99 school year, said Texas Education Agency spokeswoman Debbie Graves Ratcliffe.

"We've got to test what we're teaching, so we're trying to assess what needs to be changed," she said.

Rogers said teachers will be watching the comparison of TAAS expectations with the new curriculum.

"If there is a positive match, I think teachers will be a lot more comfortable about teaching to the test," he said. Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
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