In this podcast, Eric Hanushek and Marty West discuss two studies from the new issue of Ed Next that look at teacher dismissals.
“Managing the Teacher Workforce,” by Dan Goldhaber and Roddy Theobald, looks at which teachers in WA state are laid off when budget problems force districts to reduce their staff numbers, and at who would be laid off instead under policies based on effectiveness rather than experience.
“Principled Principals,” by Brian Jacob, looks at the decisions Chicago principals made when they were allowed to dismiss untenured teachers with minimal hassle.
As Eric Hanushek explains, very few studies have looked systematically at the issue of teacher dismissal before these, in part because there have been very few evaluations that have been meaningful, and very few related dismissals aimed at producing a higher quality teaching force.
A transcript of the conversation is available here.
