According to new poll data from Scholastic, teachers are overall positive about Common Core, are more positive than they were last year, and are much more positive the more thoroughly it has been implemented in their schools.

"Fifty-three percent (53%) of teachers overall have seen a positive impact on their students’ ability to think critically and use reasoning skills due to Common Core implementation," Scholastic's report said. "Sixty-eight percent (68%) of teachers who report they are in schools where implementation was fully complete in the 2012–13 school year (or earlier) say the same."

But a new survey by researchers at Vanderbilt University finds very different results from Tennessee teachers, finding "that just 39 percent of respondents believe that teaching to the standards will improve student learning — compared with 60 percent who said the same last year," according to The Tennessean.

"It also found 56 percent of the 27,000 Tennessee teachers who responded to the survey want to abandon the standards, while 13 percent would prefer to delay their implementation. Only 31 percent want to proceed. The 2013 survey did not ask questions in this area."

Down in Louisiana, there seems to be enough discord that teachers are being told to keep silent about their opinions on Common Core, according to reporting by The Town Talk, a Gannett publication.

"Employees of at least one school have been directed not to express opinions in public or by texts, email, social media or traditional media, according to notes taken at a faculty meeting last week that were obtained by The Town Talk," the paper reported.

The school district denied having a formal policy on social media, but "local teachers who agreed to speak to The Town Talk anonymously said these directives normally are given orally rather than in writing. The notes came from a faculty meeting after teacher Cher Wilson spoke to a TV news outlet about what she called a 'dishonest' grading system."

Email: eschulzke@desnews.com