Expectations and Student Success: The Views of America’s Teachers and Students

The MetLife Survey of the American Teacher : Collaborating for Student Success is a three-part report presenting data from a national survey conducted in fall 2009 of one thousand K-12 public school teachers, five hundred principals, and one thousand public school students in grades 3-12. The second part of the survey report, titled Student Achievement, focuses on the expectations teachers have for their students and that students have for themselves in terms of school-level academic achievement and preparation for higher education. The survey found that significant gaps exist between the expectations teachers have for their students and the extent to which these expectations are actually demonstrated. There are also gaps between what teachers believe and what their students perceive. Furthermore, teachers believe more in their own ability to prepare all students for college than in the ability of all students to succeed.

FINDINGS

Teachers’ and Students’ Expectations for School Achievement

• High numbers of K-12 teachers (86 percent) believe that setting high expectations for all students would have a positive effect on student achievement.
• Teachers at schools with more than two-thirds low-income students are less likely than those with less than one-third low-income students to report that most teachers at their school have high standards for all.
• Only 36 percent of teachers believe that all of their students actually have the ability to succeed academically.
• Most teachers (84 percent) are very confident that they have the knowledge and skills to help their students succeed academically.
• About half of students (53 percent) strongly agree that the teachers at their school want them to succeed. This belief is less common among secondary school students (44 percent) than elementary students (66 percent).

Higher Education for All?

• About two-thirds of teachers (64 percent) strongly agree that it is important for students to have one year or more of post-secondary education
• On average, teachers expect that about half of their students will attend a two- or four-year college; nearly 80 percent of students report that they plan to attend college.
• Almost one-third (31 percent) of secondary students have never spoken to their teachers one-on-one about their plans for college or work after high school, and 25 percent have never spoken to their teachers about what they should be doing now to prepare for college.
• More than two-thirds (77 percent) of teachers believe that raising awareness among students of what is needed to succeed in college is very important to improving achievement. 
• Almost 80 percent of high school teachers (77 percent) report that they tell all their students that it is important to prepare now for college, and talk about what college is like. Teachers of low-income students are more likely to talk about such topics with all their students.

The entire report may be downloaded in PDF format.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Only 13 percent of teachers believe that all their students are motivated to succeed academically (17 percent of elementary teachers and 5 percent of secondary teachers).
• Nearly half of students (45 percent) report that many students in their school are passed to the next grade level without really being ready.
• Only about half of students (55 percent) are very confident that they will achieve their goals for the future.