More than 90 percent of all middle and high school teachers surveyed say that strengthening programs and resources to help diverse learners with the highest needs meet college- and career-ready standards should be a priority in education. Among that group, 59 percent say helping diverse learners “must be done as one of the highest priorities in education.”
A large majority of parents of middle and high school students in the survey (84 percent) also say that addressing the needs of diverse learners should be a priority, including 57 percent who say it must be done as a “highest priority” in education.
Most business executives from Fortune 1000 companies also agree that the needs of diverse learners should be a priority (89 percent), but significantly fewer (31 percent), in contrast to teachers and parents, rate it among the highest priorities for education.
Many policy makers have championed a goal of graduating every student from high school ready for college and a career regardless of their income, race, ethnic or language background, or disability status. The new survey—the 27th in an annual series commissioned by MetLife and conducted by Harris Interactive—compares the perspectives on this emerging national goal of key stakeholders: middle and high school teachers, students and parents, and business executives from Fortune 1000 companies as a voice of employers.
MetLife’s 2009 study found that girls have higher expectations for their education and more confidence about achieving their goals. This year’s survey finds that a gender gap in college aspirations emerges in high school.
“While girls and boys in middle school do not differ in their aspirations for college, high school girls are more likely than boys to say it is very likely they will go to college (83 percent vs. 71 percent) and to say that they plan on getting a bachelor’s or higher-level degree (83 percent vs. 72 percent),” the report says.
The survey “reveals some troubling gaps in perceptions and differences on priorities that will need to be better understood and addressed if the nation’s educational aspirations are to be realized,” the report says. “While students and adults in the survey agree on the importance of being prepared, students’ expectations for college-going on average are higher than the expectations their teachers and potential employers have for them.”
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