Tackling Gaps in Access to Strong Teachers: What State Leaders Can Do

Education Trust. 1250 H Street NW Suite 700, Washington, DC 20005. Tel: 202-293-1217; Fax: 202-293-2605; Web site: https://edtrust.org/

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24

Policymakers

Teacher Competencies; Teacher Effectiveness; Equal Education; Minority Group Students; Poverty; Racial Differences; Socioeconomic Status; Administrator Role; State Departments of Education; Consciousness Raising; Expectation; Educational Improvement; Resource Allocation; Networks; Cooperative Planning; Problem Solving; School Districts; At Risk Students; Teacher Placement; Educational Legislation; Elementary Secondary Education; Federal Legislation; Data Collection; Data Analysis; Accountability; Disproportionate Representation; Professional Isolation

Massachusetts; Washington; Tennessee; Indiana; Maryland; Florida; Maine; Ohio

Of the many inequities in the education system, gaps in access to strong teaching have proven to be among the most stubborn. That is not to say that there are not excellent teachers in high-poverty schools. Research shows an indisputable and wide-spread pattern in schools and districts across the country: Low-income children and children of color do not have the same access to strong, consistent teaching as their White and higher-income peers. Although district and school leaders make many of the decisions about recruiting, hiring, assigning, and supporting teachers, state education officials also have a critical role to play in addressing disparities in teaching quality. This report presents five ways, drawn from promising equity-focused initiatives, state education leaders can incentivize and support leaders in districts--both traditional and charter--to remedy inequities in access to strong teachers. [For the executive summary to this report, "Tackling Gaps in Access to Strong Teachers: What State Leaders Can Do. Executive Summary," ED578854. For the review of this report, "NEPC Review: "Tackling Gaps in Access to Strong Teachers: What State Leaders Can Do (The Education Trust, October 2017)," see ED578792.]

ERIC

2017

ED578853