On Top of the News
Moving the Best Teachers to the Worst Schools
Washington Post | 11/8/2012

Behind the Headline
An Effective Teacher in Every Classroom
Education Next | Summer 2010

In the Washington Post, Jay Mathews reacts to a new study that looks at teacher turnover in D.C., and in particular, what the district is doing to keep its best teachers. The study finds that the school system is making some progress, but that many principals are doing very little to try to retain the most effective teachers. It also finds that highly effective teachers are less likely to teach in schools with more poor children. In his column, Mathews asks whether the school district will do more to get top-performing teachers to move to the schools where they are most needed.

In an Education Next forum about effective teachers, Eric Hanushek and Kati Haycock both argued against forcibly reassigning teachers to high-need schools. “As district leaders are discovering for themselves, a better solution lies in a creative combination of targeted incentives for teachers and policies that empower administrators and school leaders to recruit and retain effective educators,” Kati Haycock wrote.

More about the study can be found in “Study Chides D.C. Teacher Turnover” by Emma Brown

-Education Next