National Governor's Association, Center for Best PracticesMay 2009Teacher quality has been a major topic in Ohio politics of late. One of the latest installments of Gov. Ted Strickland's Conversations on Education video series features Board of Regents Chancellor Eric Fingerhut speaking about teacher quality provisions within the governor's proposed education plan.
National Governor's Association, Center for Best Practices
May 2009
Teacher quality has been a major topic in Ohio politics of late. One of the latest installments of Gov. Ted Strickland's Conversations on Education video series features Board of Regents Chancellor Eric Fingerhut speaking about teacher quality provisions within the governor's proposed education plan.
An interesting companion to the Ohio discussion of teacher quality is a National Governors Association report on what it takes to recruit, train, and retain the best teachers. It begins by acknowledging that the effectiveness of teachers has the greatest impact on student learning, and then delves into how to build that workforce.
The report first focuses on the issue of attracting teachers and recommends that states attract the best and brightest to the profession. Fordham President Chester E. Finn, Jr. and visiting Fordham fellow Andy Smarick both have thoughts about the feasibility of attracting these types of ‘superstar' teachers (here and here). The governor's plan for education addresses this concern with the creation of a four-year residency program to better prepare all who enter the teaching profession.
The NGA report recommends improving training for both teachers and principals and licensure revision. Gov. Strickland's plan also addresses this recommendation through improvements to the state's alternative licensure program designed to attract individuals with strong content knowledge but no prior classroom experience in teaching. The education plan also creates a career ladder for teachers with four levels of licensure, providing opportunities for advancement based on credentials and experience.
Finally, to make teaching competitive with other occupations, the report recommends linking bonuses or base salary to effectiveness, student performance, or the willingness to teach in hard-to-staff schools. This is not addressed in Governor Strickland's education reform plan.
This report highlights why the quality of teachers is vital to the success of students and recognizes the inherent challenges of meeting that goal. State-by-state reforms are necessary, and Ohio has only just begun the important work of building a truly high-quality educational workforce.
Read the NGA report here, watch Chancellor Fingerhut's video here, and read more about the Governor's plan for education here.
Center for American Progress, with author Joan Baratz-Snowden from the Education Study Center
June 2009
This Center for American Progress report provides a nationwide assessment of teacher tenure and ultimately concludes that most tenure models need to be fixed. The report reviews research and surveys that show teachers and the general public favor changes to the common tenure scheme. Educators, however, believe that there should still be a system of security for them, although they admit that the current model does not block enough sub-par teachers. It should not be underestimated how difficult any transformation of tenure will be, but the report is cautiously hopeful that changes can occur.
Author Joan Baratz-Snowden proposes substituting the phrase "teacher tenure," which she regards as hostile, with "continuing employment status" and "due process." Standards also play a role in evaluating teachers. After all, if there is no uniform way to track student achievement in a school district, state, or nation, the report suggests it will be impossible to put this information into the teacher-tenure equation.
Toledo, Ohio, is praised in the report for being an example of a first-class teacher tenure system (although, this contrasts somewhat with the findings of The Widget Effect, see here, reviewed below). Toledo's system connects new teachers with mentors who oversee their growth and then make a determination as to whether the educator makes tenure. The Buckeye State's new budget includes a model peer assistance and review program (see here). This model could be used to eventually tie into tenure decisions. Another promising aspect is a provision that requires teachers to be licensed for seven years before they are eligible for tenure (see here). The previous law allowed educators to attain tenure after only three years on the job.
For the report, see here.
Consortium on Chicago School Research
June 2009
Chicago is the third largest city in the country and the hometown of our nation's president and as such, has naturally been playing a much larger role in the political realm. The educational research world must have noticed because Chicago and the Chicago Public School System have also had a large presence in several recent reports.
One of these recent reports, by the Consortium on Chicago School Research, discusses teachers and why they leave the district.. The report states that while CPS's district-wide turnover is normal compared to other districts, a closer look reveals that in Chicago, half of the teachers leave their school buildings every five years. It can be easily conceded that such turnover would impair effectiveness for any school and leads to the obvious question: why?
According to the study, younger, new teachers are more likely to leave than older teachers, with the exception of the oldest teachers leaving for retirement. Low-achieving, low-income, predominantly African-American schools have more turnover. Larger percentages of teachers stay in schools where they feel a "climate of collective responsibility and innovation." It is important to note that the report's authors acknowledge several flaws in the study. There is no data for charter schools and since they are only assessing CPS, they cannot tell where a person goes if he/she leaves a CPS school and does not transfer to another CPS school.
Thus, while turnover in CPS looks average when compared to other districts, it might not be average. President Obama is taking his education cue from Chicago (as indicated in an interesting, antique piece of New York Times election coverage, see here, citing Fordham's own Mike Petrilli!) and so should districts and states like Ohio by taking steps to ensure that effective, qualified teachers remain in their schools.
Read the report here.
National Council on Teacher Quality and National Math and Science Initiative
June 2009
Qualified science and math teachers are in short supply and this report explains how state laws and regulations can encourage individuals to teach in the STEM disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and math.
The report, released by the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) and the National Math and Science Initiative, comes as Ohio is slashing funding for STEM initiatives.
The report tackles the problem of maintaining sufficient STEM teachers by addressing weaknesses in state standards for teacher preparation. Methods for getting the right people into STEM classrooms are listed in a report full of what states should do.
The report argues that laws and regulations should make it more challenging to teach in STEM fields, while also creating incentives/making it more appealing. For example, across the country, passing grades for entry teacher tests are as low as 40 percent. The Council recommends raising the minimum passing grade to 60 percent. In addition, elementary teachers need more math and science coursework. Elementary teacher candidates should be required to take math classes "specific to [their] needs" and they should know how to teach math. The report also recommends strengthening elementary licensing tests. Loopholes in middle-school licensure need to be closed and future middle-school teachers should pass licensure requirements for grades 7-12.
Since traditional education-school models are not working to attract enough STEM teachers, the report also says states should consider alternative ways to allow teachers to qualify. Flexible compensation packages, signing bonuses, and incentive programs should be used to entice qualified people to the teaching profession.
Read the report here.
Center on Education Policy
June 2009
The newest report from the Center on Education Policy (CEP) addresses the belief that No Child Left Behind (NCLB) causes teachers to neglect students who are either high- or low-achieving. This debate centers on educators having motivations incentives under NCLB to focus on the middle-of-the-road children, so called "bubble kids," as these are the ones most likely to fall below or reach the proficient level.
Mining data from all 50 states, the report finds that basic and advanced students did not suffer and have better achievement levels across all grades. The center did note, however, that the proficient- and above-level students saw the most gains. The study also found that the lowest gains were made in high schools -- possibly because teenagers may be less likely to obey authority, there may be fewer teachers who teach to the achievement tests and/or fewer Title I funding dollars go to high schools.
Hampering the analysis is the non-uniform nature of individual state data. As the study points out, each state has its own tests and it is often difficult to define basic, proficient, and advanced students. Ohio, for example, has five levels of placement - limited/below basic, basic, proficient, accelerated, and advanced. Notably, this system will change as the new biennial budget reduces the placement ratings to three by disposing of the basic and accelerated levels. Data assessment is crucial to figuring out what works and state data must be readily available and easy to comprehend. National standards would allow organizations to compile more accurate statistics, which could be used to figure out measures (paid for by taxpayers) that are working. Therefore, it is encouraging to see that Ohio and 45 other states are joining forces in the Common Core State Standards Initiative (see here).
For the report, see here. Also, Fordham's June 2008 report, "High-Achieving Students in the Era of No Child Left Behind," offers some additional insights into the debate (see here).
Alliance for Excellent Education, with author Lyndsay M. Pinkus
June 2009
The concept of Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) ought to be scrapped in high schools in favor of other measures, argues this policy brief from the Alliance for Excellent Education. AYP leads to states tailoring their tests and schools simply for basic achievement rather than college-and-career readiness. Author Lyndsay M. Pinkus believes that AYP should be replaced with several different variables linked to achievement, including attendance, course success, and promotion rates. SAT, ACT, and Advanced Placement (AP) test scores are offered as indicators of high-school students' potential beyond graduation. The report discusses states, such as Kentucky, which have managed to tackle the strenuous task of following high-school students to college or a post-graduation career. Pinkus does acknowledge, however, that tracking students has its difficulties, especially when graduates leave the state. The policy brief determines that the most appropriate course to begin the journey away from AYP is to research the ways attendance and other indicators can be implemented in a productive fashion.
Ohio's new biennial budget includes a revision of the state's standards and assessments, which is a vital component of measuring student achievement. The Ohio Graduation Test (OGT) will be replaced with a combination of the ACT or other college entrance test, end-of-course exams, and a senior thesis. These alterations, especially the transition from the OGT to ACT or other college entrance exam, are good ideas, but the details of these budget provisions are largely unclear. There is also a concern that schools will fail to require challenging thesis projects. Overall, Ohio is ahead of many states in preparing high-school students for life after graduation, but it can still improve by focusing on the policy brief's reporting on the limits of AYP and the importance of college-and-career readiness.
For the report, see here.
Consortium on Chicago School Research
June 2009
Chicago is the third largest city in the country and the hometown of our nation's president and as such, has naturally been playing a much larger role in the political realm. The educational research world must have noticed because Chicago and the Chicago Public School System have also had a large presence in several recent reports.
One of these recent reports, by the Consortium on Chicago School Research, discusses teachers and why they leave the district.. The report states that while CPS's district-wide turnover is normal compared to other districts, a closer look reveals that in Chicago, half of the teachers leave their school buildings every five years. It can be easily conceded that such turnover would impair effectiveness for any school and leads to the obvious question: why?
According to the study, younger, new teachers are more likely to leave than older teachers, with the exception of the oldest teachers leaving for retirement. Low-achieving, low-income, predominantly African-American schools have more turnover. Larger percentages of teachers stay in schools where they feel a "climate of collective responsibility and innovation." It is important to note that the report's authors acknowledge several flaws in the study. There is no data for charter schools and since they are only assessing CPS, they cannot tell where a person goes if he/she leaves a CPS school and does not transfer to another CPS school.
Thus, while turnover in CPS looks average when compared to other districts, it might not be average. President Obama is taking his education cue from Chicago (as indicated in an interesting, antique piece of New York Times election coverage, see here, citing Fordham's own Mike Petrilli!) and so should districts and states like Ohio by taking steps to ensure that effective, qualified teachers remain in their schools.
Read the report here.
National Governor's Association, Center for Best Practices
May 2009
Teacher quality has been a major topic in Ohio politics of late. One of the latest installments of Gov. Ted Strickland's Conversations on Education video series features Board of Regents Chancellor Eric Fingerhut speaking about teacher quality provisions within the governor's proposed education plan.
An interesting companion to the Ohio discussion of teacher quality is a National Governors Association report on what it takes to recruit, train, and retain the best teachers. It begins by acknowledging that the effectiveness of teachers has the greatest impact on student learning, and then delves into how to build that workforce.
The report first focuses on the issue of attracting teachers and recommends that states attract the best and brightest to the profession. Fordham President Chester E. Finn, Jr. and visiting Fordham fellow Andy Smarick both have thoughts about the feasibility of attracting these types of ‘superstar' teachers (here and here). The governor's plan for education addresses this concern with the creation of a four-year residency program to better prepare all who enter the teaching profession.
The NGA report recommends improving training for both teachers and principals and licensure revision. Gov. Strickland's plan also addresses this recommendation through improvements to the state's alternative licensure program designed to attract individuals with strong content knowledge but no prior classroom experience in teaching. The education plan also creates a career ladder for teachers with four levels of licensure, providing opportunities for advancement based on credentials and experience.
Finally, to make teaching competitive with other occupations, the report recommends linking bonuses or base salary to effectiveness, student performance, or the willingness to teach in hard-to-staff schools. This is not addressed in Governor Strickland's education reform plan.
This report highlights why the quality of teachers is vital to the success of students and recognizes the inherent challenges of meeting that goal. State-by-state reforms are necessary, and Ohio has only just begun the important work of building a truly high-quality educational workforce.
Read the NGA report here, watch Chancellor Fingerhut's video here, and read more about the Governor's plan for education here.
Center for American Progress, with author Joan Baratz-Snowden from the Education Study Center
June 2009
This Center for American Progress report provides a nationwide assessment of teacher tenure and ultimately concludes that most tenure models need to be fixed. The report reviews research and surveys that show teachers and the general public favor changes to the common tenure scheme. Educators, however, believe that there should still be a system of security for them, although they admit that the current model does not block enough sub-par teachers. It should not be underestimated how difficult any transformation of tenure will be, but the report is cautiously hopeful that changes can occur.
Author Joan Baratz-Snowden proposes substituting the phrase "teacher tenure," which she regards as hostile, with "continuing employment status" and "due process." Standards also play a role in evaluating teachers. After all, if there is no uniform way to track student achievement in a school district, state, or nation, the report suggests it will be impossible to put this information into the teacher-tenure equation.
Toledo, Ohio, is praised in the report for being an example of a first-class teacher tenure system (although, this contrasts somewhat with the findings of The Widget Effect, see here, reviewed below). Toledo's system connects new teachers with mentors who oversee their growth and then make a determination as to whether the educator makes tenure. The Buckeye State's new budget includes a model peer assistance and review program (see here). This model could be used to eventually tie into tenure decisions. Another promising aspect is a provision that requires teachers to be licensed for seven years before they are eligible for tenure (see here). The previous law allowed educators to attain tenure after only three years on the job.
For the report, see here.
