August 12, 2007 - In a Daily Advertiser (LA) editorial ("We must address teacher turnover,") they report discipline has been the number one concern of Lafayette public school teachers.
Among other factors contributing to teacher loss are burdensome activities that seem unrelated to basic teaching responsibilities.Their editorial is based upon a report by an Advertiser report, Amanada Harris, "Schools tackle turnover: Keeping good educators in the classroom isn't always easy; find updated Lafayette Parish school supplies list at AcadianaMoms.com Students losing out as teachers leave nation's classrooms," [The advertising in the middle is how the headline appears.]
One teacher says misbehaving students are no longer sent to the office - the paperwork and other elements of the process are too burdensome. Other burdens include filling out attendance forms, calling parents when students miss class, completing special paperwork for special education students and otherwise taking time away from helping children to learn.
Not the least among those distracting burdens, teachers say, is meeting the demands of the state's accountability program. The Advertiser was told that it is the teachers, not the students, who fall under the staggering weight of the accountability procedures. Some say high-stakes testing deprives them of the freedom to teach "how and what" they know students need.
The source of the percentage on teachers leaving the profession in the first five years cited in the article is given as the NEA. [The figure given most frequently elsewhere is is 20%.] The contention is that teachers quit because of poorly disciplined students and frustration with the No Child Left Behind-mandated testing requirements.
THE OTHER VIEW: The number of teachers leaving the profession annually has become an issue because of a few simple facts. A large number of teachers are reaching retirement age. They will have to be replaced. College graduates are not choosing teaching as a profession in high enough numbers to replace them.
Compounding this is classroom reduction efforts that have reduced classroom size to 1:14.7 which happens to be the Pupil/teacher ratio in Louisiana. (By comparison, California has a Pupil-teacher ratio of 20.8. ) Pupil-teacher ratio in Japan is 20.4 One of the lowest pupil/teacher ratios in the country is in New Jersey, (12.4) which happens to have the most schools under state control for poor academic performance and fiscal irresponsibility.
[When you scroll down to performance at the Nation's Report Card, remember "proficient" means "at grade level".]
Then there is the problem of incompetence.
A good many teachers are not "retained" because they were unsuitable in the first place. Even when given years to demonstrate basic competence by passing reading and writing examinations, they can't. A lot more fail to demonstrate knowledge in the subject they teach or care enough to take classes that would certify them. The No Child Left Behind Act requires teachers to be "highly qualified" and to be fully certified in their field within three years. Think of "highly qualified" as "minimally suitable" and you get the picture. (See TT - Highly Qualified Teachers)
What this means is that the teachers can't be rehired. (See TT - Teacher Competency)
(Presumably, they move to other school districts and start the countdown to certification that is never completed all over again.)
In Houston, ABC 13 Undercover unit examined more than one million records of Texas teacher competency tests to find out how teachers were scoring on the exams. (See TT - Teacher Competency Exams) In Part II, they school districts, showing numbers taking tests and percentages of passing scores on competency tests. (See TT - Teacher Competency Exams II)
Two postings at the latter deserve comment. "States turned out more successful students before teachers were required to be certified." and "If you want to question your teachers' qualifications, then question away. The system allows under-informed teachers to teach because no one else will teach them. Want quality? Quality comes with a price, and the public is not willing to pay it."
When teachers are judged on pass/fail rates, guess who passes? When State-wide tests were instituted, they resulted in lowered standards to deflect criticism and avoid accountability and increase the pass rate. New accountability with the No Child Left Behind Act forces them to post state and federal testing scores online. It's now public knowledge how many schools are failing to teach. The rest of his statement makes my point.
As for "quality" and low pay and "under-informed" teachers, there is no study that equates high pay with high-quality teaching. Teachers are not underpaid in comparison to the median income of the communities in which they teach, the 180 days a year they teach, and the benefits they enjoy. (See - TT Scrutiny)
(See Manhattan Institute report, "How Much Are Public School Teachers Paid?")
As for teacher salaries in Louisiana? The Annual Teacher Salary for 2006-2007 report surveying salaries in their 68 districts happens to be online. (Scroll through the Parish and City additional information to see how much supplemental income is provided.)
Teachers were leaving long before the No Child Left Behind and standardized testing.
A Teacher turnover study in 2002 looked at teachers who left school districts during their first five years of teaching in four Midwest states and broke down the novice teachers as 1) those who taught continuously in the same district all five years ("stayers"), (2) those who transferred to another school district or districts within a state but remained in the same state all five years ("movers"), and (3) those who left public school teaching in a state and did not return ("leavers").
The real question is how many are "leavers"? That seems to be 20% nationwide. A clue to their reasons for leaving might be found in a study the National Center for Education Statistics issued in July "To Teach or Not to Teach? Teaching Experience and Preparation Among 1992-1993 Bachelor's Degree Recipients 10 Years After College" available online at the U.S. Department of Education. (Such a catchy title.)
The most cited reason for leaving? For males, to work outside of education. For females, to raise children or other family-related reason. (Pg 24 - 26) In other words, better opportunities elsewhere outside the field and the fact that entering teaching is a good way to find employment while searching for a job you would like better. A high percentage of education majors (57%) were not teaching. (Pg 11) Those teachers who did stay were satisfied. (Pg 20) Of the approx. 39% who were not satisfied, a third were waiting till something better came along. (Pg 23)
