Identifying Effective Teachers Policy
Providing comprehensive reporting may be the state's most important role for ensuring the equitable distribution of teachers among schools. Kansas reports little school-level data that can help support the equitable distribution of teacher talent.
Kansas does not collect or publicly report most 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 and the ratio of new to veteran teachers. Kansas also does not report on teacher absenteeism or turnover rates.
Kansas does report the percentage of highly qualified teachers. Commendably, these data are reported for each school, rather than aggregated by district. The state also reports the on the percentage of teachers not licensed, not qualified or teaching on a waiver or provisional certificate by school. Kansas is commended for comparing the average percentage of highly qualified teachers in high- and low-poverty schools.
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. Kansas 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.
Kansas 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 Kansas 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.
Kansas recognized the factual accuracy of this analysis.