'Highly effective' teachers are spread unevenly across District (of Columbia.)

[elleng]

The District's most affluent ward has more than four times as many "highly effective" public schoolteachers as its poorest, underscoring a problem endemic to urban school systems: Their best educators often do not serve the children who need them most.

The inequity is reflected in the distribution of teachers judged to be most effective under the school district's rigorous new evaluation system, known as IMPACT. Just 5 percent of the 636 top performers work in Southeast Washington's Ward 8, home to many of the city's lowest-achieving schools and its highest concentration of children living in poverty.

In contrast, 22 percent of the top-performing teachers are in affluent Ward 3 in Northwest Washington, home to some of the most successful and sought-after public schools. The area has eight fewer schools than Ward 8 and about 60 percent of Ward 8's enrollment.

The imbalance represents a significant challenge for Mayor-elect Vincent C. Gray (D) and interim Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson, who have pledged to continue the reform measures initiated by former chancellor Michelle A. Rhee. Research frequently cited by Rhee and her supporters suggests that low-achieving children who have three highly effective teachers in successive years can make dramatic academic gains.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/13/AR2010111303552.html

[ProgressiveProfessor]

1. Attempting to change that flies in the face of the seniority based workplace and the union

This is also not a novel finding. Has not really been addressed with the other issues facing unionized teachers

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. Our contract (same union) does not dictate WHERE we work

Seniority merely guarantees a last hired, first fired policy when layoffs are necessary. I don't believe the DC contract is very different from this.

In other words, you can't blame the union for this inequity.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

3. The school assignment process was a contract item as work rules where I have taught

and changing that would be very hard fought. It was common enough to hear senior teachers say that they had paid their dues elsewhere so they could have the seniority rights to be first in line at the school that was:
- Nearest their home
- Had the best students
- Had the least hassles
- Had better parents

Another way to look at it would be that a teacher settles in to one campus buys a home nearby, and is protected by their by seniority etc. The ability of the district to move them around willy nilly could add an extra hour each way and significant cost to a teacher LAUSD or SDUSD). Again, I do not see our unions letting that happen

[proud2BlibKansan]

4. Seniority does not allow one teacher to bump another from a school.

In other words, you don't get to pick and choose where you teach. If there is a vacancy you can ask to be transferred there. And I see nothing wrong with that. I used my seniority to be placed in the school where I wanted to teach when my school was closed. And no it isn't near my home (it's the farthest away from my home in my district in fact), it doesn't have the best students or the least hassles either. Nearly half of the teachers in my district were re-assigned for this year. I don't know any who picked a school based on any of your criteria.

Once again, negotiated working conditions are being twisted to paint the teachers and unions in a bad light. And once again, instead of criticizing this, we, as progressives, need to be insisting this be the policy in ALL workplaces.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

10. Perhaps I was not clear

In geographically large districts, or those with bad commute times, forcing teachers to change schools has significant personal and financial impacts. That is prevented by their unions via work rules etc. Its a good thing, particularly in the mega districts like LAUSD.

It is a fact that some schools clearly have more of the better teachers than others, regardless of rating system used. That accumulation is mostly by teachers choosing to teach at them for whatever reason. The real issue is if it is reasonable for the district to reassign those teachers due to performance difficulties at other schools.

[Recursion]

13. Teacher assignment was one thing Rhee got in the new contract

In pre-chancellorship days it was done -- I kid you not -- by the city council (and then approved or rejected by the union).

[Catshrink]

5. I wonder what would happen if those "highly effective teachers"

swapped places with those in the poorer schools for a year or two. Would the results change? Would the "highly effective label" flip flop?

[DebJ]

6. My thoughts exactly.

You can't compare the results of teaching students in an affluent area, with parents who have the time, energy, money to assist their child, with the results from an area like Anacostia.

[Catshrink]

7. Even within the same school there will be differences

For example, a teacher with AP and Honors students will most likely be rated more highly effective than one who teacher "regular" or lower level kids. We know this is the danger in using one test to make a determination of which teachers are "highly effective." It's apples and oranges.

And, for those about to chime in and say "you're saying low SES kids or 'regular' or sped students can't achieve," listen up: I'm not saying that. I'm saying under the present system, these two groups of students most likely test differently because of the advantages one group has compared to the other. Take the low SES kids - or the others mentioned - give them the same adavantages (involved parents, good nutrition, stimulating environments, etc.) and you'll see those kids achieve as well.

[Hannah Bell]

8. i think we all know what would happen.

[Recursion]

14. I wonder what would happen

If Ward 8 teachers started teaching at west of the park schools, and how quickly the rich parents would figure out a way to reverse that change.

[Hannah Bell]

9. no, upper middle class students are unevenly distributed.

effective teachers are evenly distributed.

but the washington post company makes 70% of its profits from kaplan corp, a for-profit education corp.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

11. Any support for your 70% claim?

[Hannah Bell]

12. yes.

Kaplan, the company's educational division, provided 62 percent of the total company revenue in the second quarter and 67 percent of its profit. The company's newspaper division had a $14.3 million loss largely because of a $17.7 million cost of withdrawing from a multi-employer pension plan. The company will move affected employees into The Post's plan or another pension plan.

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:o9nesvcq2mwJ:www.vpa.net/index.php/news/article/washington_post_co._reports_leap_in_profit/+%22washington+post%22+kaplan+%22percent+of+its+profit%22&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

[Donald Ian Rankin]

15. It would be extremely surprising if good teachers were evenly distributed.

Given that some schools are clearly better places to work than others, those schools will have more competition per place and hence, on average, be able to select a high proportion of the best teachers.

I imagine that, as you say, student ability plays a part in the statistic in the OP too, but I don't think it's sensible to dismiss the other factor outright as you do, especially without data to the contrary.

[Hannah Bell]

16. i think it's reasonable to dismiss the whole measurement, which measures student test scores,

not effective teaching.