In Primary Sources, the survey of 10,000 teachers we released this past year, we learned that 96% percent of teachers believe that “high expectations for all students” would have a strong or very strong impact on improving academic achievement.  It came in second on the list, just below family involvement!  With that, I think teachers are trying to tell us something. 

I was reminded of this stat this week when I came across this great piece on NPR about how a teacher’s expectations can affect a student’s achievement.  The research shows that it does have a great impact so it is important to have, but how is that accomplished?  The classroom is an incredibly demanding place and as the article points out, that puts a great deal of pressure on teachers in all manners of ways to set the right tone for expectations.  Setting the bar for students can happen through both actions and words.  And to make it more complicated, expectations can shift. 

Teachers, now that it is the beginning of school, how are you setting expectations in your classroom?  Veterans, do you have advice for those entering the field?  

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