What is the SC Teacher Working Conditions Survey?

The SC Teacher Working Conditions Survey (SCTWCS) explores public school and district factors related to classroom teacher support and retention. SC TEACHER is charged through Act 185 to conduct the survey every two years.

It’s important to note that the SC Teacher Working Conditions Survey differs from the School Climate Survey as it aims to gain teacher perspectives on working conditions, rather than overall school environment.

Every teacher’s involvement makes a difference. Increased survey participation means more data and better insights to improve working conditions within our school districts and the state.

The 2027 survey will take place Jan. 11–Feb. 12 for classroom teachers in participating districts.

Districts, submit teacher emails by Dec. 18 to participate. Instructions for participation have been sent to personnel administrators as of Oct. 1.

Participating districts will gain access to their district-specific results in June 2027 via the District Landscape. Scroll for more info.

Explore FAQsDownload Information Guide (Powerpoint)

Highlights from 2025

  • The 2025 SCTWCS administration captured the experiences of close to 25,000 teachers (59.5%) from 54 traditional school districts (75%), as well as two charter districts and five other schools. 
  • Of the 54 traditional districts that participated, 45 of those districts (83%) had a teacher response rate of at least 50%.

Read the 2025 SC Teacher Working Conditions Survey report for the most recent state-level results. We hope districts will participate again or for the first time in 2027!

Access district-specific survey results

Districts that participated in the 2025 survey can access their unique findings via the District Landscape, a streamlined online platform for exploring survey results. District superintendents and personnel administrators should have received an email from SCTresults@mailbox.sc.edu with instructions for setting up their secure credentials for the District Landscape.

For assistance or access requests, please email SCTresults@mailbox.sc.edu.

GO TO THE DISTRICT LANDSCAPE

FAQs for survey participation

When is the next survey administration?

The 2027 SC Teacher Working Conditions Survey will take place Jan. 11 – Feb. 12, 2027.

District superintendents and personnel administrators will have received information on how to participate as of Oct. 1, 2026. Please submit teacher emails for participation by Dec. 18.

What happens with survey results?

  • Broad takeaways are shared in a statewide report to inform policies and practice toward improvement. Only state-level, aggregated data are included in this report.
  • District administrators alone receive district-level data. Teachers are not identifiable by their responses. Participating districts also receive free access to resources, such as workshops, crosswalks, and district- and school-level toolkits to support them through continuous improvement and strategic planning processes.
  • Schools (with a minimum of 10 teachers) that meet the participation threshold of 50% receive their results to use for internal strategic planning. Participating teachers also receive these results.

Who can take the survey?

Classroom teachers in participating districts will be sent a link to participate in the survey via their district email addresses. This includes professional certification positions of special education (itinerant [03], self-contained [06], resource [07]), prekindergarten [04], kindergarten [05], classroom [08], and retired teachers returning to teach [09].

SC TEACHER recognizes the importance of all school perspectives. We are continuing to explore ways to survey additional certified staff in future research efforts.

How long does the survey take to complete?

The survey should take less than 15 minutes on average to complete. If you need to pause while completing the survey, your answers will be saved for you to start back where you left off.

Is the survey anonymous?

The survey is confidential, not anonymous. This is only so SC TEACHER can compute a response rate for each school. Raw data will not be shared, and teachers will never be identifiable by their responses.

How is this survey different from the SC School Climate Survey?

There are two big differences between the surveys.

  • While the climate survey asks for teacher perceptions of the overall school environment, the Teacher Working Conditions Survey seeks to understand teachers’ individual perceptions of working conditions.
  • School climate information is included as part of accountability measures for schools and districts — Teacher Working Conditions Survey information is not.

When will my district have our results?

For the 2027 SC Teacher Working Conditions Survey, districts will receive survey results via the District Landscape in June 2027. The District Landscape is a secure portal for districts to access results for all SC TEACHER surveys in which they participate in one place.

Schools (with a minimum of 10 classroom teachers eligible to participate) that meet the 50% response rate threshold will receive reports by late summer. Both principals and participating teachers will receive reports of school-level data.

This schedule gives districts and schools time to use their data in planning for the following school year.

Have additional questions?
Contact SC TEACHER at SCTresults@mailbox.sc.edu.