Teacher quality gaps in U.S. public schools: Trends, sources, and implications

2019 ◽  
Vol 100 (8) ◽  
pp. 14-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan Goldhaber ◽  
Vanessa Quince ◽  
Roddy Theobald
Keyword(s):  
Student Achievement ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Teacher Quality ◽  
Effective Teachers ◽  
Achievement Gaps ◽  
Disadvantaged Students ◽  
Policy Makers

Empirical evidence shows that disadvantaged students tend to have less-qualified and less-effective teachers than their more-advantaged peers. These teacher quality gaps (TQGs), which have existed for decades and across many measures of student disadvantage and teacher quality, are an important factor explaining student achievement gaps between advantaged and disadvantaged students. Research by Dan Goldhaber, Vanessa Quince, and Roddy Theobald — focusing on the sources of TQGs across different states and measures of teacher quality — suggests that policy makers should consider both the setting and the type of gap they wish to prioritize when designing policies to address TQGs.

Has It Always Been This Way? Tracing the Evolution of Teacher Quality Gaps in U.S. Public Schools

2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 171-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan Goldhaber ◽  
Vanessa Quince ◽  
Roddy Theobald
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
Longitudinal Data ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Teacher Quality ◽  
Disadvantaged Students ◽  
School Students ◽  
Public School Students ◽  
History Of ◽  
Over Time

There is mounting evidence of substantial “teacher quality gaps” (TQGs) between advantaged and disadvantaged students but practically no empirical evidence about their history. We use longitudinal data on public school students, teachers, and schools from two states—North Carolina and Washington—to provide a descriptive history of the evolution of TQGs in these states. We find that TQGs exist in every year in each state, and for all measures, we consider student disadvantage and teacher quality. But there is variation in the magnitudes and sources of TQGs over time, between the two states, and depending on the measure of student disadvantage and teacher quality.

scholarly journals The Qualifications and Classroom Performance of Teachers Moving to Charter Schools

2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 233-268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Celeste K. Carruthers
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
Student Achievement ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
Charter Schools ◽  
Effective Teachers ◽  
Resource Constraints ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Classroom Performance ◽  
Low Performing Schools ◽  
Traditional Public Schools

Do charter schools draw good teachers from traditional, mainstream public schools? Using a thirteen-year panel of North Carolina public schoolteachers, I find that less qualified and less effective teachers move to charter schools, particularly if they move to urban schools, low-performing schools, or schools with higher shares of nonwhite students. It is unclear whether these findings reflect lower demand for teachers’ credentials and value added or resource constraints unique to charter schools, but the inability to recruit teachers who are at least as effective as those in traditional public schools will likely hinder charter student achievement.

Triumph Charter School Service Provider

2014 ◽  
pp. 278-287
Author(s):  
Verneshia (Necia) Boone
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
Charter Schools ◽  
Secondary Students ◽  
Charter School ◽  
The United States ◽  
Community Schools ◽  
Disadvantaged Students ◽  
Policy Makers

Charter schools are perhaps known to many people as community schools that are publicly funded. Educators and policy makers of the United States consider public schools in which tuition for primary and secondary students is free. A few community leaders and public officials have disclosed that selected charter school providers have too much flexibility in how they operate the schools. Perhaps their beliefs are such because most of the charter or community schools are operated under a contract in partnership with a sponsoring entity (Center for Education, 2008). According to educators and political leaders located in the Midwest region of the United States, charter schools were designed to address the current state of educational programs and to introduce an alternative model to traditional public education for economically disadvantaged students. For the last decade, research has shown that the goals and objectives of charter schools and charter school providers and leaders have been a contentious subject matter for United States educators and policy makers (Center for Education, 2008). The reason is perhaps linked to personal beliefs that charter school providers or leaders drain funding from local public school districts and do not offer disadvantaged students a better education. The case study provides an overview about Duke and Duchess Technology Centers as well as Triumph Management Company and their, products and services, competition, management structure, leadership styles, and recent challenges. Questions appear at the end of the case study for students to discuss and debate.

scholarly journals Teacher Evaluation and Teacher Turnover in Equilibrium: Evidence From DC Public Schools

AERA Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 233285842093223
Author(s):  
Jessalynn James ◽  
James H. Wyckoff
Keyword(s):  
Student Achievement ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
Teacher Evaluation ◽  
Effective Teachers ◽  
Evaluation System ◽  
Teacher Turnover ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
High Performing ◽  
Evaluation Policies ◽  
Induced Changes

Teacher turnover is an enduring concern in education policy and can incur substantial costs to students. Policies often address turnover broadly, yet effects turn on net differences in the effectiveness of exiting and entering teachers, in addition to the disruption dealt to classrooms. Recent research has shown mixed effects of teacher evaluation policies, but even where evaluation-induced differential turnover initially benefited students, gains might disappear or reverse as the stock of less effective teachers exits and if more effective teachers view high-stakes evaluation as burdensome. We examine evaluation–induced changes to the composition of exiting and entering teachers in Washington, D.C., the net effect of turnover on student achievement, and the role that evaluation played in teacher turnover. We find that turnover continues to improve teaching skills and student achievement, although effects have diminished. We find little evidence that high-performing teachers’ exit is associated with the evaluation system.

Moving beyond Brown: Race and Education After Parents v. Seattle School District No. 1

2011 ◽  
Vol 113 (4) ◽  
pp. 735-754 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamel K. Donnor
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
School District ◽  
Supreme Court ◽  
Students Of Color ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Community Schools ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Educational Advancement ◽  
Quality Learning ◽  
The U.S

Background By a 5–4 margin, the U.S. Supreme Court in Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 declared that voluntary public school integration programs were unconstitutional. Citing the prospective harm that students and their families might incur from being denied admission to the high school of their choice, the Supreme Court declared that the plaintiffs, Parents Involved in Community Schools (PICS), had a valid claim of injury by asserting a interest in not being forced to compete for seats at certain high schools in a system that uses race as a deciding factor in many of its admissions decisions. Purpose The goal of the article is to discuss how conceptions of harm and fairness as articulated in Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 privilege the self-interests of White students and families over the educational needs of students of color. Research Design This article is a document analysis. Conclusions By referencing the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka decision of 1954 (Brown I) to buttress its decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has determined that programmatic efforts to ensure students of color access to quality learning environments are inherently ominous. The dilemma moving forward for policy makers and scholars concerned with the educational advancement of students of color is not to develop new ways to integrate America's public schools or reconcile the gaps in the Supreme Court's logic, but rather to craft programs and policies for students of color around the human development and workforce needs of the global economy.

Democracy Now? Race, Education, and Black Self-Determination

2011 ◽  
Vol 113 (4) ◽  
pp. 811-830
Author(s):  
Adrienne D. Dixson
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Educational Equity ◽  
School Administrators ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Supreme Court Decision ◽  
The United States ◽  
Community Schools ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
School Assignment

Background/Context The Supreme Court's June 2007 decision on the Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No.1 (PICS) provides an important context for school districts and educational policy makers as they consider the role of race in school assignment. The PICS decision has been described as essentially “undoing” the 1954 Supreme Court decision in the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka case that ended de jure racial segregation. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study Given the rhetoric that education in the United States is the “great equalizer,” this conceptual article considers how the PICS decisions impact notions of educational equity and self-determination for African Americans. Research Design This article provides a conceptual analysis of the PICS decision and educational equity. Conclusions/Recommendations The author recommends that despite the PICS decision, school administrators and policy makers continue to consider how race impacts school assignment to ensure that public schools are democratic institutions that are racially and educationally equitable.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document