Identifying Effective Teachers Policy
Providing comprehensive reporting may be the state's most important role for ensuring the equitable distribution of teachers among schools. West Virginia reports little school-level data that can help support the equitable distribution of teacher talent.
West Virginia 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 demonstrates the academic backgrounds of a school's teachers and the ratio of new to veteran teachers. West Virginia also does not report on teacher absenteeism or turnover rates.
West Virginia does report on the percentage of highly qualified teachers. Commendably, these data are reported for each school, rather than aggregated by district. West Virginia's Highly Qualified Teacher Plan, published in 2006, compares the distribution of teachers according to experience by poverty levels. While the state continues to report annually on highly qualified teachers, there have been no further updates according to poverty levels for each school.
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. West Virginia
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.
West Virginia
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.
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.
West Virginia was helpful in providing NCTQ with facts that enhanced this analysis. West Virginia also noted that the NCLB Report Card identifies the level of education of the teachers in the building.