Friday, November 19, 2010

In The News: Survey Finds Wealthy Districts Get Best Teachers

"AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A survey that measures teacher quality in Texas has found that students in underachieving poor and minority districts are more likely to have under-qualified teachers than those in better-performing, wealthier white districts."

• "In other words," David de la Garza, president of the group, tells the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, "the students who are most in need of the most-qualified teachers are the least likely to be taught by them."

• The Association of Texas Professional Educators presented the report Monday, citing "substantial" differences in teacher quality at more than 5,700 schools surveyed.

• The study measured data from the 2008-2009 school year. It took into account teacher certification test scores, years of experience and length of time in the same teaching position.

• Association officials said that because of the findings, they'll ask the Legislature to give incentive pay increases to attract better qualified teachers to poorer, low-performing districts — maybe in the range of an additional $7,500 to $10,000 a year.

Click here for the full article.

Below see some rather interesting posts I came across on this subject that begin the discussion!  What are your thoughts?

Click here for larger print.

Posted at 8:15 PM Keywords: Teacher Pay , Wealthy Districts , Poor Districts , Teacher Quality 0 Comments