As the economy continues to falter, many school districts have been faced with staffing challenges. Teacher and staff layoffs abound, but in some cases a round of layoffs is followed by another practice: last-minute hiring. To some degree, late hiring can be considered an inevitability for schools. Administrators don’t always Read more
A new book by researchers at the Carenegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching examines the movement towards the changing face of teaching from an “occupation” to one based on scientific scholarship. The movement’s impact on teacher education programs is examined with particular attention. Authors Pat Hutchings, Mary Taylor Huber, Read more
In this month’s Education Outlook, Cory Koedel examines the standards by which prospective teachers are evaluated during university training. Koedel looks back at an article published in 1960 that showed evidence of low grading standards in university education departments: undergraduate students taking education classes were twice as likely to receive Read more
In the most recent edition of Teachers College Record, Spyros Konstantopoulos examines the long-term benefits of teacher effects on student achievement in early elementary grades. Konstantopoulos uses experimental data from Tennessee’s Student Teacher Achievement Ratio Study (Project STAR) for his study, and focused on two specific areas: 1) Determining the Read more
A recent study authored by Will Dobbie of Harvard University suggests that teacher success can be predicted at the time of hire. For his study, Dobbie looked at Teach For America’s (TFA) admissions measures to see if they can predict teachers’ future impact on student achievement. TFA bases their selection Read more
In a recent EducationNext report, researchers examine the Teacher Evaluation System (TES) of Cincinnati to test if it is as effective as has been touted and whether it could address the “Widget Effect” cited by The New Teacher Project (2009). Cincinnati’s TES uses classroom observations performed by trained evaluators external Read more
The Illinois Senate passed SB7 unanimously in April, 57 to 0. Last Thursday, the bill also passed House nearly unanimously (112 for, 1 abstaining and 1 against). The Bill now goes to Governor Quinn’s desk for signature. SB 7 was developed during months of discussions involving a wide variety of Read more
Nearly four in 10 teachers report that they are interested in combining their classroom work with other roles or responsibilities in their school or district, including 46 percent of teachers with five or fewer years of experience. Across the country, interest is increasing in alternative approaches to school staffing that Read more
What makes teachers effective, and how do you measure and cultivate it, especially in high-minority, high-poverty schools? At the recent Civil Rights Research Roundtable, convened by the Warren Institute, researchers proposed very different answers – and often viewed their theories of action as mutually exclusive. Two major theories of action Read more
A new paper from Public Impact titled Teacher Tenure Reform: Applying Lessons from the Civil Service and Higher Education examines lessons from higher education and the civil service and applies fresh thinking to offer new “elite” and “inclusive” tenure designs that could improve student learning and help grow the size Read more
A new policy brief from the Alliance for Excellent Education calls for a practical set of standards and assessments to measure the quality of teacher performance. “Transforming High Schools: Performance Systems for Powerful Teaching” recommends providing teachers with the quality education and ongoing training needed to greatly improve student outcomes. Read more
Effective teachers are critical to raising achievement and closing longstanding gaps among student subgroups. Unfortunately, access to effective teachers is not equitable or fair. Research shows that students in high-poverty schools are more likely than students in more affluent schools to have the least effective teachers. A new report from Read more
As education budgets across the nation contract in response to the recent financial crisis, many school districts have been forced to lay off a sizeable number of teachers. This raises two important questions: what determines which teachers will be let go, and is the existing policy offer best for students? Read more