Teacher quality in Texas inequitable, study says

This is an important report. We really need now to factor in how the teacher shortage is just that more critical for English language learners, many of them immigrant youth--together with the fact that their representation is increasing significantly within our state as well. -Angela

Teacher quality in Texas inequitable, study says
Disproportionate number of poorly certified educators in poor schools

By GARY SCHARRER Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau
Aug. 5, 2008, 9:37AM

AUSTIN — Texas is headed for big problems if state lawmakers don't fix serious inequities in teacher quality and experience between rich and poor schools, a noted education researcher warned Monday.
Wealthy, high-performing schools attract and keep experienced, higher-quality teachers, while schools with large numbers of low-income and minority students are left with less-experienced teachers, according to a new study.
Schools with high populations of low-income students have twice as many teachers not properly certified to teach math and science as schools in more affluent neighborhoods, according to the report.
In high poverty schools, nearly 20 percent of math teachers and 40 percent of science teachers were assigned to teach courses for which they were not properly certified.
Unless state legislators act, the gap is expected to grow, as incoming high school students are now required to take four years of math and science.
"We could be in a world of trouble in five years when this plays out," said Edward Fuller, a professor in the Educational Policy and Planning program at The University of Texas at Austin.
Fuller conducted his study for the Association of Texas Professional Educators.
Meaningful incentive pay
"Unfortunately, poor, minority and low-achieving students are far more likely to be taught by an under-qualified teacher than their more affluent, white and high-achieving peers," said Jerry Bonham, president of the 112,000-member association and a middle school English teacher in Mesquite.
"The students most in need of the most qualified teachers are the least likely to be taught by them."
Some school districts offer incentive pay in efforts to entice experienced and high-quality teachers to low-income, low-performing schools, but the typical $1,000 to $3,000 bonus is insufficient for teachers to deal with the extra stress and pressures, Fuller said.
It's going to take extra mentoring, more professional staff development and meaningful incentive pay to improve the teacher quality at low-income, low-performing schools, he said.
"Otherwise, we will continue to have the inequity. It's not going to go away," Fuller said.
Matching funds required
Lawmakers set aside extra money last year for teacher incentive pay, but many districts did not apply because matching funds were required.
House Education Chairman Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands, expects lawmakers to consider legislation next year involving high-quality teachers and teacher retention at hard-to-staff schools. Eissler said he would like to see bonuses in the $10,000 range for hard-to-fill positions.
"It's been shown that the most important factor in closing the achievement gaps is the work of an effective teacher. We need to get as many as we can in the right places," he said.
Texas' example
If someone wrote a primer on "how to make your teachers quit, they would look at what the state of Texas does," said Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio, a member of the Senate Education Committee. "We place brand new teachers in very hard-to-teach schools. We don't have strong mentoring programs, and they get very frustrated."
It's an easier career choice for experienced teachers to stay in higher-performing schools, she said, "where they have a fighting chance that at least three-quarters of the student body will pass the test."
It typically takes court litigation to force legislators into action on public education issues, she acknowledged.
About 56 percent of the 4.6 million students attending Texas public schools come from low-income families, and the percentage of white children continues to drop — down to 35 percent last school year.
gscharrer@express-news.net