Will Firing Teachers get us Better Ones?

Chancellor Rhee of Washington D.C. fired 241 teachers, according to the New York Times. She concluded that these teachers should be fired for poor performance. Perhaps these teachers were not performing well, but I have two questions for Kate Rhee. How do you decide what  a poorly performing teacher is? And what do you plan to do to replace them?

DC uses a system called IMPACT to evaluate teachers. Under this system, half of teacher's evaluations are determined by their students test scores, the other half is a mix of observations, and other "value-added measures." It is unclear what really goes into the stew of teacher evaluations in DC. It is equally confusing to DC teachers, as one said, "We don't mind being held accountable," said a third. "but this is not the way. It is subjective, unclear and punitive."

In the debate over whether the evaluation system is effective or not, a major point is being overlooked. In a school system that serves many low income students, how does the city school district plan to replace the fired teachers and build an effective teaching force? There is a fierce battle on both sides, mainly between teachers unions and school district administrators, on how to evaluate teachers. But the particularities of the evaluation system distracts from this larger question of how to build a high quality teaching force.

While I have no silver bullet to offer, I do think that there are people thinking about this issue on all sides of the political spectrum. Linda Darling Hammond, a Stanford professor, has argued that we need real investments in teacher preparation. The National Center on Teacher Quality has argued for strong mentoring and increased salaries for teachers. These are real solutions to the bigger issue that school districts must examine, otherwise low income kids will have the same problems they had before, a real lack of good teachers.

Photo Credit: The Wu's Photoland