Identifying Effective Teachers Policy
Providing comprehensive reporting may be the state's most important role for ensuring the equitable distribution of teachers among schools. Indiana reports little school-level data that can help support the equitable distribution of teacher talent.
Indiana 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. Indiana also does not report on teacher absenteeism or turnover rates.
Indiana does report on the percentage of highly qualified teachers, but only at the state level, not the district or school level. The state does report on the average number of years of teacher experience by school and is commended for providing a roster that includes the years of experience for each teacher. With these data, the ratio of new to veteran teachers can easily be determined.
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. Indiana 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.
Indiana 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.
Providing comparative data for schools with
similar poverty and minority populations would yield an even more
comprehensive picture of gaps in the equitable distribution of
teachers.
Report data at the school level.
Indiana should ensure that it is reporting all
currently collected data at the school-level, rather than aggregated
at the state level.
Indiana was helpful in providing NCTQ with facts that enhanced this analysis. Indiana also noted that "this goal does not seem to be in line with what is most important—student outcomes," and that "HQT is so outmoded in 2011." The state added that it does not like to include inputs when it can directly show outputs. Indiana also pointed out that "it would be easier to have looked at addressing some of these issues if it had a heads-up that NCTQ wanted some kind of index. When brand=new goals are invented without prior warning to states that are trying hard to meet NCTQ's markers, it is really discouraging." That said, Indiana indicated that it loves the idea and is already planning how to do an index.
NCTQ agrees that HQT is outmoded as states move toward connecting teacher performance to student learning. However, in the short term, it remains among the data most readily available that shines at least some light on teacher distribution. As for the teacher quality index, NCTQ has been advocating for states to adopt such an index since it was first published by the Illinois Education Research Council in 2008. It was included in this goal in 2009, as well as in numerous other NCTQ reports. No state has acted on this recommendation to date, and NCTQ is pleased that Indiana is considering doing so.