Tennessee educator survey: 1 in 3 teachers would choose another profession or leave for a higher paying job

One in three Tennessee teachers reports they would choose another profession in hindsight.

As well, one in three also says they would leave teaching altogether if they could find a higher paying job, according to a report released Thursday on the opinions of teachers statewide.

While the annual Tennessee Educator Survey found there are signs of trouble among the 45,000 teachers who responded, there are also many positives for the state.

The report represents the opinions of 62% of the state's teachers. This year's snapshot of teacher opinions marks an all-time high response rate.

Tennessee Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn said the goal from the state is to ensure there are quality teachers in front of students every day and if teachers want to leave the profession that is troubling. 

She said the state is working through creating a plan for the state's education system and it includes teachers and students at the forefront.

"We have to ensure we are treating teachers like the professionals they are and honoring their work," Schwinn said.

The ninth annual report is meant to capture the feelings of teachers statewide and the questions include a broad range of issues that impact the Volunteer State's teachers in the hopes the state, districts and schools can make changes to benefit educators.

Schwinn added she personally reviewed the thousands of comments that were submitted from teachers during the survey. The comments include shortening testing and more pay for teachers.

"We are getting a higher and higher response rate every year, and I want teachers to know we take this work seriously and incorporate what they have to say in our work," Schwinn said. "I am grateful they took the time to complete the survey."

Teacher satisfaction is high

The report shows that overall employee satisfaction across the state is high.

The report says 90% of teachers are generally satisfied working as a teacher in their school.

It also shows teachers feel there is an atmosphere of mutual respect and collaboration at their schools. The majority of teachers, or 92%, agree they are able to raise issues with their schools' leadership.

And teachers are also increasingly satisfied with the state's teacher evaluation system, according to the survey.

Erin O'Hara, Tennessee Education Research Alliance executive director, an organization that partners with the state on research initiatives and issued an analysis on the survey, said the higher rates of satisfaction are items teachers say are important.

She said the number of teachers taking the survey also shows they are seeing results from their opinions being heard.

"Hopefully they are seeing the benefit and seeing that what they are saying is being talked about within the school district or state level at the policy level," O'Hara said.

Room for improvement

But the positives are tempered by feedback about other aspects of the job.

Teacher opinions are split on how much planning time they have in schools. Teachers are also spending many hours creating instructional materials, with feedback showing educators are divided on whether instructional materials are adequate.

About half of all teacher says they need to modify or create instructional materials. 

The issues are more pronounced in urban districts, where teachers say that they have less individual planning time each week and are more likely to spend more than 10 hours per week sourcing classroom materials.

Schwinn said it is on the state and districts to ensure every teacher has the materials and training they need.

"Teachers are about kids, and we need to ensure we are doing our due diligence so they can focus on the business of being an educator," she said.

The overall perception over the state's standardized exams is low. About 63% of the participating teachers say it is not worth their time and effort.

The opinion over the state's TNReady test is about the same as in previous years.

O'Hara said the survey doesn't go into depth to pinpoint the issues that create the perception. The 2019 TNReady test was free of operational issues, unlike previous years. 

Additional feedback from teachers

Along with the survey, the state received feedback from individual teachers.

The research alliance, as part of its report, listed the ideas submitted by teachers to the Tennessee Department of Education.

Teacher comments asked the state to consider less testing and to include access to the previous year's tests and writing results.

Teachers also asked for more support with mental health issues in schools.

And teachers also addressed salary concerns, saying the state needs to provide a significant pay increase for teachers. The comments added that teachers will end up leaving the profession due to pay.

Schwinn said teacher pay is a tricky issue, with the state putting more money in recent years. She said how the state and districts compensate teachers is a bigger issue that the state is studying.

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Reach Jason Gonzales at jagonzales@tennessean.com and on Twitter @ByJasonGonzales.