07.18.05
best teachers teach in affluent ISDs
Low-income schools lack top teachers
Researcher says that, most often, the best-qualified educators teach in affluent areas
— reported by the Houston Chronicle
Fuller’s findings quantify the commonly held notion that the state’s best teachers work in the most affluent schools, leaving less-qualified educators to teach low-income students. And the schools with the least-qualified teachers typically struggle the most on the tests that are used to label schools as successes or failures.
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Fuller’s formula takes three factors into account at each school: the teacher employment turnover rate, percentage of teachers with less than three years’ experience and those teaching courses outside their area of certification. Using the latest available data from the 2003-04 school year, Fuller assigned every campus a Teacher Quality Index based on how they compare with other schools. Those that fall in the top 10 percent statewide are given a rating of 1. Schools in the bottom 10 percent are rated a 10.
