Teachers who received extra training and support with Common Core State Standards found that they have positive experiences in the classroom, and those teachers who didn't get that training want in. 

A survey funded by Scholastic and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation found out of the 1,676 teachers who responded, "the vast majority said they needed more training," said an article on EdSource.org.

Teachers, according to the survey, said they wanted more professional development in the actual content of the standards, how to integrate the standards “across subject areas” and what they need to change in their method of instruction to teach to the standards," the article said.

“The finding that jumped out at me and gave me pause was that 84 percent of teachers said they needed quality professional development,” said Ellen Moir, chief executive officer of the New Teacher Center, a national nonprofit in Santa Cruz that provides training and mentorship to new teachers.

Almost the majority of those surveyed said they needed "resources, including instructional materials aligned with Common Core [88 percent] and more planning time to find materials and prepare lessons, and to collaborate with other teachers [78 percent]," the article said.

"Yet more teachers [79 percent] said they felt either 'very prepared' or 'somewhat prepared' to teach to the standards, compared to 71 percent in a companion survey a year earlier."

The survey also found elementary schools were "further along in the Common Core rollout than secondary schools." Teachers are also concerned that testing could play a role in teacher evaluations.

Martha Castellón, executive director of the Stanford Graduate School of Education’s Understanding Language program, said teachers are now expected to teach their classes aligned with the Common Core, while helping English learners master the higher standards, and most aren't trained to do so.

“The state and districts are going to have to provide teachers with this training,” Castellón said. “The curriculum addresses the content, but it doesn’t help teachers break it down for students who have various levels of English proficiency.”

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Article by Kassondra Granata, EducationWorld Contributor