Towards More Equitable Teacher Distribution?

In light of the New York Legislature's troubling decision to ban the use of student test scores in teacher tenure decisions, this development -- reported in today's Washington Post -- is hopeful. (Remember, I'm an Optimist.)

Now, I'm squarely in the "multiple measures" camp. I don't think student test scores should serve as the sole arbiter or necessarily even be a primary factor in teacher tenure, licensure or compensation decisions. But to completely restrict them from being in the mix at all? Pleeeease! New York's decision was way off the mark. Measures like this make the job of thoughtful reformers much more difficult and stoke the wrath of those who want to storm the barricades.

In Washington, DC Michelle Rhee is off to a hot start as Schools Chancellor. She's shaking up a system that was in desperate need of some shaking up. Perhaps she's ruffled a few too many feathers, but in general she's doling out the right measure of tough love, tackling bureaucratic dysfunction, and keeping her focus on raising student outcomes.

The Post reports:

The Washington Teachers' Union is discussing a proposed three-year contract from the school system that would eliminate seniority, giving Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee more control in filling vacancies, a union member familiar with the talks said yesterday. Without seniority, Rhee could place teachers based on qualifications or performance rather than years of service, said the union member.... The union member said Rhee sought the provision as a recruiting tool so she could offer talented candidates the position of their choice.

This development is hopeful, not because it gives Rhee more power but because she strikes me as a leader with a clear idea of how to utilize that power to distribute teachers in a more sensible manner. Currently, as in most school systems, tenured DC public school teachers with the greatest seniority can basically decide where they want to teach. What that often means is that experienced teachers opt out of schools that serve the most disadvantaged and most academically needy students.

In a school system like DC with tremendous challenges, I think it makes a great deal of sense to coordinate the placement and distribution of teachers from the central office as opposed to enabling each individual teacher to make his or her decision removed from the needs of the entire system. (Rhee's apparent proposal to eliminate tenure entirely is another matter and methinks a step too far.) In terms of assignment, teachers should be able to indicate preferences, there should be transparency in the assignment process, and additional pay should be considered for teachers who are handed more challenging assignments. But the status quo isn't working -- and not just in Washington, DC.

Groups like the Education Trust have reported that the distribution of teachers between and within school districts is inequitable. The students who arguably should receive the best, most experienced teachers are often the ones who receive a revolving door of new teachers who are set up by the system to fail and often leave at higher rates. These teachers seldom receive high-quality mentoring and induction support and often are asked to teach in schools that have inadequate working conditions in place. It's an impossible task.

In Teaching Inequality: How Poor and Minority Students Are Shortchanged on Teacher Quality, Heather Peske and Kati Haycock write:

Children in the highest-poverty schools are assigned to novice teachers almost twice as often as
children in low-poverty schools. Similarly, students in high-minority schools are assigned to novice teachers at twice the rate as students in schools without many minority students. In high-poverty secondary schools, more than one in three core academic classes are taught by out-of-field teachers, compared to about one in five classes in low-poverty schools. When it comes to minority students, the same pattern persists. In secondary schools serving the most minority students, almost one in three classes are assigned to an out-of-field teacher compared to about one in five in low-minority schools.

Clearly, this situation needs to change and I applaud Rhee's efforts to deliver a quality public education to students in Washington, DC. Taking control of teacher assignment may well be a necessary ingredient in her recipe for success.