Identifying Effective Teachers Policy
Providing comprehensive reporting may be the state's most important role for ensuring the equitable distribution of teachers among schools. Iowa does not report school-level data that can help support the equitable distribution of teacher talent.
Iowa does not collect or publicly report any of the data recommended by NCTQ. The state does not provide a school-level teacher quality index that indicates the academic backgrounds of a school's teachers or the ratio of new to veteran teachers. Iowa also does not report on teacher absenteeism or turnover rates.
Iowa does report on the percentage of highly qualified teachers, but these data are reported only statewide, not at the district or school level. Iowa reports on the average years of teacher experience by district. The state is commended for reporting on disparities between percentage of highly qualified teachers by poverty level and minority population. Iowa's Equity Plan, published in December 2006, reported on teacher retention rate for the previous three years, but these data have not been updated.
Use a teacher quality index to report publicly about each school.
A teacher quality index, such as the one
developed by the Illinois Education Research Council, with data
including 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, can shine a light on how equitably teachers are
distributed both across and within districts. Iowa should
ensure that individual school report cards 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.
Iowa should collect and report 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.
Ensure that data are current.
It is important to keep data updated and current
in order to provide the public with an accurate picture of
teacher distribution across schools in districts. Iowa should update
the data it reports on highly qualified teachers.
Report data at the school level.
Iowa should ensure that it is reporting all currently collected data at the school-level, rather than aggregated by district.
Iowa recognized the factual accuracy of this analysis.