Who Got Layoff Notices Under Washington State's Criteria
Districts in Washington state sent out more than 2,000 layoff notices between 2008-09 and 2009-10, and seniority was by far the greatest determinant of which teachers they prioritized for cuts. But evidence suggests that districts attempted to protect certain teachers, including those in "high needs" subjects and those who held master's degrees, according to a recent analysis of Washington state data.
What's more, had the decision been based on effectiveness, rather than seniority, the teaching force would have been significantly more effective on average, authors Daniel Goldhaber and Roddy Theobold assert in the paper.
The analysis, from a working paper by the Center for Education Data & Research, at the University of Washington in Bothell, provides a glimpse into which teachers under the seniority system are most likely to get the ax in tough budget times. (In Washington, most of these layoffs never came to pass, thanks to the federal
