Identifying Effective Teachers Policy
Providing comprehensive reporting may be the state's most important role for ensuring the equitable distribution of teachers among schools. California reports some school-level data that can help support the equitable distribution of teacher talent among schools within districts.
California does not collect or publicly report on most of the data recommended by NCTQ. The state does not provide a school-level teacher index that demonstrates the academic backgrounds of a school's teachers. California does not report teacher absenteeism or turnover rates.
California does report on the percentage of teachers on emergency credentials, the percentage of highly qualified teachers, teacher vacancies and teacher "misassignments." Commendably, these data are reported for each school, rather than aggregated by district. The state is also commended for comparing the percentage of highly qualified teachers at high- versus low-poverty schools for each district. California's Highly Qualified Teacher Plan, published in November 2006, reports on the disparities between the percentages of highly qualified teachers relative to poverty levels and minority populations, but the data has not been updated.
Use a teacher quality index to report publicly about each school.
California is commended for reporting the
percentage of teachers on emergency credentials, the percentage of
highly qualified teachers, teacher vacancies and misassignments by
school as well as comparing the percentage of highly qualified
teachers at high- versus low-poverty schools. However, the state
should utilize a teacher quality index with such data as teachers'
average SAT or ACT scores, the percentage of teachers failing basic
skills licensure tests at least once, the selectivity of teachers'
undergraduate colleges and the percentage of new teachers. This can shine a
light on how equitably teachers are distributed both across and
within districts. California should ensure that individual school report cards should include such
data in a manner that translates these factors into something easily understood by the public, such as a color-coded matrix indicating a school's high or low score.
Publish other data that facilitate comparisons across schools.
California
should collect and report other school-level data that reflect the
stability of a school's faculty, including
the rates of teacher absenteeism and turnover.
Provide comparative data based on school demographics.
As California does with highly qualified
teachers, the state should provide comparative data for schools with similar poverty
and minority populations. This would yield a more comprehensive
picture of gaps in the equitable distribution of teachers.
Ensure that data are current.
Although California has ensured that some of its
data are up-to-date, the state should update its Highly
Qualified Teacher Plan, which the state has not done since 2006.
California recognized the factual accuracy of this analysis.