In a series of posts about the Connecticut Education Association (CEA) poll-powered press conference against the Common Core, I’ve looked a variety of issues.

We’ve spoken about who was asking the questions on the poll and why. We looked at the data they gathered but didn’t want to share. Now let’s take a look at what must be the most unfortunate piece of truth coming out of the CEA survey — let’s look at who was asked.[Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, 2/20/2014]

Based on the CEA’s own poll demographics, of the teachers surveyed:

•    91 percent are Caucasian or white

•    71 percent do not teach in a high-poverty school

•    68 percent have been teaching more than 10 years (19 percent have been teacher for more than 25 years)

So, based on their own poll, the CEA asked older, white teachers from wealthy districts what they think of the Common Core.

This is a big problem, perhaps completely invalidating the data. In places like Bridgeport, less than half of the district’s African American 3rd graders are reading at grade level. Only one-third of Bridgeport students can expect to graduate on time. [Connecticut State Department of Education, Performance Reports, Bridgeport 2012-2013]

In districts like Windham, six out of every 10 Latino students don’t read at grade level. [Performance Reports, Windham 2012-2013]

But the CEA dares to present data taken from white and wealthy districts as representative? Of course a Caucasian teacher from New Canaan a few years away from retirement doesn’t want to change things up.

As any resident knows, there are two Connecticut’s, and new research from a University of Washington professor bears that out — the state is home to both the wealthiest and poorest zip codes in the country.[New Geography, 1/30/2014]
Trouble is, the CEA only wants to acknowledge the existence of one Connecticut, forgetting about the teachers and students who continue to struggle unheard.

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