Equitable Distribution of Qualified and Effective Teachers: A Study Report

• In Event: 35.081 - Roundtable Session 13
  In Roundtable Session: 35.081-12 - Ways to Determine Teacher Quality: What We Know, Don't Know, and Still Have to Learn

Abstract

Numerous forms of recent federal policy have included specific provisions aimed to ensure all students have equitable access to high-quality instruction. This study examined state actions in the 2011-12 school year to monitor the distribution of qualified and effective teachers among schools and to ensure that disadvantaged students are taught by qualified and effective teachers. We draw on interviews with 52 state officials to explore the measures states were using and developing to rate teacher quality and performance and to monitor the extent to which qualified and effective teachers were distributed equitably among schools and we highlight state strategies for improving the equitable distribution of teachers, specifically those they targeted at schools serving high proportions of poor and/or minority students.

Authors

• Andrew J. Wayne, American Institutes for Research

• Courtney Tanenbaum, American Institutes for Research

• Meredith Jane Ludwig, American Institutes for Research