Identifying Effective Teachers Policy
Providing comprehensive reporting may be the state's most important role for ensuring the equitable distribution of teachers among schools. South Carolina reports some school-level data that can help support the equitable distribution of teacher talent.
South Carolina collects and publicly reports some of the data recommended by NCTQ. Although the state does not provide a school-level teacher quality index that demonstrates the academic backgrounds and experience of a school's teachers, South Carolina does report on the percentage of teachers on emergency or provisional credentials, the percentage of highly qualified teachers and teacher absenteeism and turnover rates. Commendably, these data are reported for each school, rather than aggregated by district. South Carolina is also commended for comparing the percentage of highly qualified teachers at high- and low-poverty schools.
Use a teacher quality index to report publicly about each school.
South Carolina is commended for reporting more
school-level data than most states. However, the state should utilize
a teacher quality index with such data as with 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. South Carolina 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.
Provide comparative data based on school demographics.
As South Carolina 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.
South Carolina recognized the factual accuracy of this analysis.