Identifying Effective Teachers Policy
Providing comprehensive reporting may be the state's most important role for ensuring the equitable distribution of teachers among schools. Wyoming does not report school-level data that can help support the equitable distribution of teacher talent.
Wyoming 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. Wyoming also does not report on teacher absenteeism or turnover rates.
Wyoming does report on the percentage of highly qualified teacher in high- and low-poverty schools for each district; the most recent data reported is for 2008-2009. For the 2009-2010 school year, the state did report on the distribution of highly qualified teachers in high- and low-poverty schools and high- and low-minority schools statewide. However, the state does not provide the percentage of highly qualified teachers at the school level.
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. Wyoming 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.
Wyoming 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.
Wyoming should ensure that it is reporting all currently collected data at the school level, rather than aggregated by district.
Wyoming recognized the factual accuracy of this analysis.