Finding

1
Finding Keeping Good Teachers

• Arkansas Department
• of Education
• Little Rock, AR
• November 30, 2006
• Barnett Berry
• Founder and President

2
Teachers Matter!

• Teacher quality can explain more than one
  grade-level equivalent in test performance.
  (Hanushek, 1992)
• TQ impacts can persist for many years. (Sanders
  and Rivers, 1996)

3
Teachers Matter!

• Tremendous variation in teacher effectiveness
  (Bembry et al, 1998, Hanushek, 1992 Sanders and
  Rivers, 1996)
• TQ impact is far larger than any other
  quantifiable schooling input. (Goldhaber, 2002)

4
The Bad News

• Poor students and those of color are far LESS
  likely to be taught by a qualified teacher
• Very little consensus on what to do
• however, everything that needs to be done is
  being done somewhere!

5
So What Do We Do?

• Know the good teacher
• Follow the research evidence and collect and use
  data
• Four-pronged, integrated approach
• Local Focus on best practices
• State Align the good stuff underway
• Federal A Marshall Plan for TQ
• Business Build political will and financial
  basis to do the right thing

6
A Range of Research Reveals That Good Teachers

• Know subject matter
• Use tools to assess how their students learn and
  what they know
• Use materials to hook what students know onto
  the content
• Engage students in debates, research, and
  experimentation

7
A Range of Research Reveals That Good Teachers

• Give students ownership of the learning process
• Create well-managed classrooms where all trust
  and respect one another
• Adjust curriculum to second language and other
  special need learners

8
Lets Start with a Very Good Teacher

• Engaging text (Hintons The Outsiders)
• Eyes behind the head
• Culturally responsive teaching
• Matching of student teams
• Preparing for tests by developing new language
  (compare, contrast, discuss, debate)
• Connecting text beyond the books

9
What Good Teaching Looks Like
10
JayNow!!

• A college sophomore
• B average
• Majoring in Accounting Finance

11
Finding Good Teachers

• Salaries matter more for recruiting than
  retaining.
• Growing your own may be a better investment than
  importing talent.
• New teachers have different career expectations
  than experienced teachers.
• A range of incentives will work for the range of
  teachers needed (no one size fits all).

12
Finding Good Teachers Lessons from NBCTs

• Good teachers do not work for poor principals.
• Good teachers do not teach to scripted curricula.
• Good teachers want to work with kindred spirits.
• Good teachers need resources to teach.
• Good teachers value varied incentives salary is
  not the only lever.

13
Keeping Good Teachers

• It is about working conditions!

14

• Teacher Working Conditions are Student Learning
  Conditions

15
CTQs Research on TWC

• Kansas 53 response rate statewide with over
  21,000 educators and data available online
  www.kansastwc.org
• Nevada 49 response rate for Clark County (over
  8,000 with some participation in Washoe) data
  viewing by school with support from assistance
  team at www.nvtlc.org
• Ohio pilot in 2005 and voluntary survey in 2006
  with about 40 of 13,000 educators
  www.ohiotlc.org

16
CTQs Research on TWC

• Arizona 70 response rate in 7,500 educator
  phase-in www.aztwc.org. Statewide in 2007
• North Carolina 65 response rate statewide with
  over 75,000 educators and data for 1,985 of 2,200
  schools online
• Districts in Alabama, Arkansas, Virginia and
  Georgia used parts or entire TWC survey in 2004-06

17
Teachers Report What Most Promotes Student
Learning(NC 2004 TWC)
18
Time and Empowerment are Critical

• If I am allowed to utilize my teaching
  expertise to draw from what I know will engage
  and stimulate my students then students will
  achieve at levels no one could dream of. If I
  am hamperedthen I cant do what I do best.
• - Member, Teacher Leaders Network

19
Teacher Working Conditions Three Measures

• Adequate Yearly Progress
• In top designation/met growth target set by the
  state
• School rating on state accountability system
  based on state assessments (NC top 3 categories
  and in SC rated good or excellent)
• As these measures are either/or we can assess
  the likelihood of being on one side of the fence
  or the other

20
Teacher Working Conditions and AYP in NC in 2004

• Leadership was the single greatest predictor of
  AYP status at the middle school level, more so
  than school size and teacher retention.
• For every one point increase on the TWC survey,
  MS were almost 6.7 times more likely to have made
  AYP.

21
Teacher Working Conditions and AYP in NC in 2004

• Schools were 4 times more likely to make AYP for
  every one point increase on the TWC on
  professional development.
• For every one point increase on the survey in the
  facilities and resource domain avg., schools were
  2.8 times more likely to make AYP.

22
Teaching and Learning Conditions Improve Teacher
Retention
23
Teachers Report on What KEEPS Them in Teaching
(NC 2004 TWC)
24

• Without a doubt, the principal is the number
  one factor in determining the desirability of
  being a part of a particular school community.
  Being respected and valued personally and
  professionally is something I have to have in
  order to stay in a school.
• - Member, Teacher Leaders Network

25
(No Transcript)
26
What New Teachers Want

• More pedagogical and classroom management
  preparation
• Career advancement and differential pay
• Chance to work with colleagues
• Not a 30 year teaching career

27
First-Year Teacher Turnover Induction Source
Smith, T Ingersoll, R. 2004. "What are the
Effects of Induction and Mentoring on Beginning
Teacher Turnover?" American Educational Research
Journal. Vol. 41, No. 2, Summer.
28
(No Transcript)
29
Imagine a rural, high-poverty school where over
last 4 years

• Student achievement has been rising and now 85
  of students meet grade level standards.
• Discipline referrals are down and student
  attendance and parent engagement are up.
• Teacher turnover has dropped significantly.

30
Imagine a rural, high-poverty school where over
last 4 years

• Teachers have an hour of joint planning time a
  day.
• Teacher evaluation and professional development
  are driven by National Board standards.
• 60 of the teachers are now NBCTs.
• The principal and AP are NBCTs.

31
Yes this is a REAL school!!!
32
A Marshall Plan for Teaching

• Provide service scholarships to prepare teachers
  for high-need fields and locations (40,000 _at_
  25,000 each 1 billion)
• Create high-quality preparation programs
  featuring internships in state-of-the-art
  teaching schools in high-need areas (100 cities
  _at_ 2 million each 200 million)

33
A Marshall Plan for Teaching

• Develop state mentoring programs for all
  beginning teachers (125,000 _at_ 4,000 each 500
  million)
• Create incentives for expert teachers to teach in
  high-need schools (100 million)
• For an annual investment costing less than one
  week in Iraq, the teaching gap could be closed.