Tenure and Teacher Quality

Interesting CAP report from Raegen Miller and Robin Chait on “Teacher Turnover, Tenure Policies, and the Distribution of Teacher Quality”. From the conclusion:

When it comes to teacher quality, it seems that high-poverty schools can’t catch a break. Their competitive disadvantages in attracting and retaining high-quality teachers set off a vicious cycle. Reluctant to endure lumbering human resource practices and difficult working conditions, effective teachers tend not to take jobs in high-poverty schools. A revolving door atmosphere hamstrings professional development initiatives, one of many
reasons preventing high-poverty schools from offering a coherent instructional program. Weak student academic achievement and abysmal school completion rates mean that high-poverty schools do not create many college graduates who may consider careers in teaching. This is important because teachers are prone to work in areas similar to the ones where they were raised.

Unable to attract effective teachers, to develop them from a stock of novices, or to grow their own, high-poverty schools are generally unable to ensure that all of their studentslearn enough to be productive members of society. This is not acceptable, and tinkering with policies affecting teacher labor markets is unlikely to break the cycle. It is time for policymakers to revisit policies at the heart of the status quo. Teacher tenure
is one of these policies. Currently, tenure policies do not play a role in ensuring that all students have access to effective teachers. Rather, they reinforce the chances that students in high-poverty schools will be assigned chronically ineffective teachers. In an era when the U.S. economy must be globally competitive, the vital role of schools in safeguarding the nation’s economic security is clearer than ever, and the role that tenure policies play in preserving a skewed distribution of teacher quality cannot be ignored.

Here in DC where we have our share of low-performing public schools, the chancellor is trying to push a plan wherein teachers will be able to get on a track where they earn more money but get fewer tenure protections. It certainly seems like a good idea to me.