Judging+teacher+effectiveness+in+average+and+high-performing+schools


 * Research Question: Judging teacher effectiveness in average and high-performing schools**


 * Author: Kerri Soscia**

**Teacher Shortages**

**Citation:** Hansen, B. (2001, August 24). Teacher shortages. //CQ Researcher//, //11//, 633-656. Retrieved from http://0-library.cqpress.com.helin.uri.edu/cqresearcher/


 * Summary:** A critical amount of teacher shortages leads to a lower level of teacher quality and effectiveness. In suburban areas, more than two thirds of schools are experiencing shortages in particular areas of education. As school districts become more and more desperate for teachers, the number of requirements a potential teacher must meet become fewer and fewer. More than a quarter of the teachers in America begin their jobs without having met all the standards and requirements laid out by the state they serve in. Of the thirty-nine states that require potential teachers to take a test on basic skills, thirty-six states have created loopholes that allow failed teachers to teach with a temporary or provisional license. Many teachers now also teach “out of the field” in a subject that they have not been properly trained in. Although lack of teacher qualification does play a part in lowering the quality of students' education, it is not the only factor. Many highly qualified teachers are put off from applying by the amount of unrelated requirements and demands made by the school districts. Many teachers are required to have a background in a subject which is not their own; highly-qualified teachers will often apply for other, easier-to-acquire jobs instead of trying to meet more requirements. Schools are often finding that while they try to acquire more highly-qualified teachers and raise the level of quality in the classrooms, the tightening of standards and requirements pushes good teachers away and actually lowers the certification quality level of the staff.


 * Reaction:** I think that this article makes it clear how quickly the quality of teaching in America is going down. As teachers become less and less certified and the number of students enrolled in schools become higher, the education system becomes increasingly unable to keep up. As the education system slips further behind, teachers are asked to handle more than they are capable of and they become less effective teachers. It is hard for a student to learn from a teacher that is unqualified to teach. It is also hard for a student to learn from a teacher who is qualified in a subject other than what is being taught. Pushing teachers out of their comfort zones in such a way only lowers their effectiveness. By lowering the standards by which we hire teachers, we are paving the way for them to become less effective. If we lower these standards in average and high performing schools, where many of the best teachers are working, we are only lowering the number of teachers truly capable of teaching.

Raising Standards in American Schools? Problems With Improving Teacher Quality


 * Citation:** Smith, E. (2008). Raising standards in American schools? Problems with improving teacher quality. //Teaching & Teacher Education//, //24//(3), 610-622. doi:10.1016/j.tate.2007.09.013


 * Summary:** No Child Left Behind has had a severe impact on teacher effectiveness. No Child Left Behind mandates that all students across the nation advance their basic skills every year and make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). NCLB puts a lot of pressure on school districts to make sure that their teachers are effective and that the students are learning. If a school does not make AYP, they face the problem of having to restaff their schools, re-write their curriculum, or be run by a private sector. Therefore, teachers are now pressured to be the best they can be and present the most impressive applications possible. States are making the requirements of teacher certification increasingly rigorous to verify that they are hiring the very best, who are capable of pushing students to make their AYP. This focus on requirements means that teachers spend more time beefing up their applications and learning things that do not come to play in the classroom instead of learning how to effectively teach. Teachers that are capable of taking difficult tests and understanding difficult material are not necessarily capable of teaching it. However, a teacher that teaches in a suburban school has a much better chance of doing well. Suburban schools are often filled with richer kids or either white or Asian descent whose parents provide them with more opportunities and support throughout their education. Most kids in wealthier schools and school districts also are primarily English speakers, which makes the teacher's job much simpler.


 * Reaction:** I think that this article makes it clear that teachers are being pushed in the wrong direction. No Child Left Behind puts the school districts in a stressful situation where they fear for their positions and the schools they are in charge of, and therefore they push to have the most highly-qualified teachers possible. However, as school districts push their teachers to learn more and more, students are being left behind. Although the teachers may know more about what they are teaching, some are not any more capable of teaching it. I think that schools need to refocus their energies to make teachers more capable of teaching the material rather than learning it. Students will improve more if they have more adequate support from the teachers and faculty. Although making sure a teacher understands the material being taught is important, it is also important that they learn to teach rather than continue to learn. Teachers in average and high-performing schools often understand this. They are more capable of teaching their students in a way that will help them learn the material because they know that their students often have the resources and ability to meet AYP every year.

Teachers Get a Chance to Fix Poorer Schools
 * Citation:** Hu, W. (2010, September 6). Teachers Get Chance to Fix Poorer Schools. //The New York Times//. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/07/education/07teachers.html&adxnnlx=1322623477-8gR6HSL6j9ocXWg8T2hg+Q


 * Summary:** This article focuses on how the organization “Teach for America” is focused on bringing a better education to students in urban schools. Teachers in the Teach for America program are mostly young newly graduated college students Teachers go into schools without a principal to lead them, instead choosing to run schools as a team and hopefully make the kind of progress that kids are able to warm up to. Teach for America teachers follow a program called “Building Responsible Intelligent Creative Kids,” otherwise known as BRICK. As the program advances, students have developed further than they used to in their typical public school district. Kids have been more excited to go to their classes and teachers are able to teach in more innovative and effective ways. They are able to connect more with the students on a personal level and teach their lessons based on how well their students will interpret them.


 * Reaction:** I really like the idea of this project. I think that it's great that the teachers want to help their students. What these teachers are doing transcends what NCLB has put in place. This proves to me that teachers still care about their students. It also proves to me that teachers realize that the most effective way to teach is to have a personal relationship with the kids and tailor lessons to fit them. If teachers care about their students and work with them on a more personal level, the students are more likely to learn. For this reason, I think it would be a good idea to include student-teacher relationships in an evaluation of a teacher's effectiveness.

**What's Up With All the Teacher Bashing?**
 * Cite:** Editors of Rethinking Schools. (n.d.). What’s Up With All the Teacher Bashing? //Rethinking Schools//. Retrieved November 30, 2011, from http://www.rethinkingschools.org/archive/24_04/edit244.shtml


 * Summary:** This editorial fights against the typical idea of what a “bad teacher” could be. A bad teacher is defined as one who cannot close the achievement gap between students. As much as this may be true, the government does not take into account that these teachers are fighting against all sorts of disadvantages, such as the lack of self discipline of students and lack of available resources. Students, their parents, and their communities are also under attack. People are throwing around the blame as for who is responsible for the failing of students' education. As these battles over education continue, only the teachers have a means by which to protect themselves As teachers are being fired left and right, teaching unions become stronger than ever. Teachers are doing their best to fight for their rights and for their students, despite the opinions of the government.


 * Reaction:** I think that it's great that teachers are fighting for their rights. I think that they're right in saying that education is more than black and white- students need to be seen as people, not as statistics and numbers. Teachers have every right to insist that they are good teachers for teaching past the restrictions of No Child Left Behind and communities have every right to fight for the education of their children. I'm glad to see that people are seeing past the statistic aspect of NCLB and are seeing just how personal education is.

Overall Reaction to Your Research
I think that my research shows me just how many obstacles teachers have to fight against. Teachers working in average or high-performing schools have a much easier time working with students than teachers working with students in less advantaged situations. Teachers working with kids in high-performing schools have access to much more money and many more resources. Students also have more resources at their disposal, such as parental help and more previous knowledge. For example, a student in an average school is often fairly well off economically and has a base education to work off of. Teachers with a much easier group of student to work with often produce better test results. However, not all schools can produce the same test results; not all students have the ability or resources to achieve it. I think that these differences make it clear that if the way students are going to be taught has to be different, then the way teachers are evaluated has to be different. Education is at a point where it is time to branch out beyond standardized test results; it is time to personalize education in a way that is most successful for students as individuals. AT

Relevance in Rhode Island Schools
My research provides a basic example of what works and what does not work in terms of teaching methods. The most effective teachers are those who can reach out to their students on a personal level. The best students are those with self-discipline and ample resources to help them succeed. Certain Rhode Island school districts, such as Middletown and East Greenwich are examples of high-performing schools with effective teachers. The teachers believe in their kids and are passionate are their jobs; they go beyond test scores and requirements in order to make learning personal. Many of the less privileged school districts in Rhode Island have other problems to face beyond teaching, but if they were to possess teachers as capable to go beyond test scores as these schools, hopefully they would at least see some progress.