Meeting the highly qualified teacher challenge

USDOE - Continued emphasis on equitable distribution • • OESE priority (of 3): Teacher quality, equity and effectiveness “ensuring that poor or minority children are not taught by inexperienced, unqualified or out-of field teachers at higher rates than are other children”

Highly qualified teachers – the ‘floor’ – inputs 100% by end of 2006-07 • Bachelor’s degree • State certification • Demonstration of content knowledge (exam, coursework, HOUSSE)

Highly

effective

teachers – the goal - outputs Available research says: • Years of experience • Contextual training • Value-added: student results

New York State’s Plan to Enhance Teacher Quality •

State actions to reduce gap:

– Focus resources and TA on high-need, low performing schools – Collect and widely disseminate HQT data – Engage teacher education institutions in preparing candidates for shortage fields – Strategies for certification, induction, ongoing professional development and teacher retention

New York State’s Plan to Enhance Teacher Quality •

State actions to reduce gap (con’t):

– Collaborate with network providers for targeted, HQ PD – Advocate for additional fiscal resources for high need schools – Require (and monitor) LEA teacher quality plans

New York State’s Plan to Enhance Teacher Quality

Impact on LEAs

• HQT lists – for LEAs/districts not meeting HQT AMO of: – 90% in 2004-05 – data avail July 2006 – 95% in 2005-06 – preliminary data now – 100% in 2006-07 – BEDS surveys just completed

New York State’s Plan to Enhance Teacher Quality

Impact on LEAs (con’t)

• Teacher quality plan required now for LEAs on 2004-05 lists • Teacher quality plan, including equitable distribution of HQ and experienced teachers, will be required of all LEAs in 2006-07 consolidated application • Continued use of HOUSSE to get eligible teachers HQ • Board of Regents: limit incidental teaching?

NYS Equity Gap

• In 2004-05, a large difference between the top and bottom quartiles (high poverty/high minority and low poverty/low minority) in classes with HQ teachers • New York is second from the bottom in the size of the gap at the elementary level (16% difference – 82% vs. 98%) • New York is sixth from the bottom in the size of the secondary gap (17% difference – 80% vs. 97%)

• The equity gap exists at multiple levels: – State – large and small urban districts – District – high poverty/minority buildings • State plan – to begin reporting on district gaps in 2008 – Classroom assignments – which teachers get the ‘difficult students’?

HQT gaps

• In 2004-05, of the 42,143 core courses not taught by HQ teachers, 87% (71% @ secondary level) were taught by teachers not certified for the subject areas to which they were assigned • Statewide not-HQ courses – Science (14%) – English (13%) – Math (12%) • Some regions: high % of foreign language courses not taught by HQ teachers (9% statewide, 25% in some regions) • Secondary special classes are more likely to have not-HQ teaching of core courses than elementary special classes

Continuing challenges

• Accurate and timely data • Full dissemination of data & implications • Contractual barriers • Proliferating requirements • Limited resources – fiscal and human

Emerging Research - Strategies to Improve

Effective

Teaching • Improving the working environment – Building school capacity to support teachers – Teacher career ladders and leadership – Induction/mentoring support – Placement practices

Emerging Research - Strategies to Improve

Effective

Teaching (con’t) • Pipeline strategies – Preparation for teaching in high need schools – Expanding the teaching pool – Hiring practices – Recruiting minority teachers • Monetary strategies – Performance-based pay – Financial incentives

from

http://www.tqsource.org/strategies/

In your work with districts, how might you help them define teaching effectiveness?

• Base of “highly qualified” • Experience – who gets assigned to what buildings and classrooms?

• What other factors highly impact teaching effectiveness – consider APPR, job-embedded PD, working conditions, mentoring & induction support, distributed leadership …?

Possible SCDN leadership roles?

• Examine local data related to the placement of experienced and highly qualified teachers – Dig deeply into multiple layers of teacher data – Help build the case (with teachers, administrators, other stakeholders) for equitable building and classroom placement of experienced and highly qualified, experienced, and effective teachers – Include teaching quality issues in school improvement planning, including resource allocation

Possible SCDN leadership roles? (con’t) • How to help build learning environments that support recruitment and encourage retention? • Assist in ensuring that eligible teachers are documented as highly qualified (HOUSSE & other routes) • Help develop local plans and rubrics (including non-evaluative) that assess teaching quality

Guiding questions • What roles related to teaching quality, experience and effectiveness might your region address?

• What roles related to the equitable distribution of highly effective teaching might your network address?

• What kinds of support might you need from SED?

Questions, information or TA requests: Alysan Slighter 518-473-7155 [email protected]