Has teacher quality declined over time?
This was written by Matthew Di Carlo, senior fellow at the non-profit Albert Shanker Institute, located in Washington, D.C. This post originally appeared on the institute’s blog.
By Matthew Di Carlo
One of the common assumptions lurking in the background of our education debates is that “quality” of the teaching workforce has declined a great deal over the past few decades (see here, here, here and here [slide 16]). There is a very plausible storyline supporting this assertion: Prior to the dramatic rise in female labor force participation since the 1960s, professional women were concentrated in a handful of female-dominated occupations, chief among them teaching. Since then, women’s options have changed, and many have moved into professions such as law and medicine instead of the classroom.
Read full article >>Report: How much high-poverty schools get cheated on funding
A new U.S. Education Department report shows that more than 40 percent of schools across the country that serve mostly students from low-income families are being shortchanged when it comes to state and local funding.
The findings won’t surprise anybody who follows equity issues in public education funding, as high-poverty schools have long had fewer resources than wealthier ones — even those schools that have received extra federal money through the Title 1 program that is aimed at helping needy students.
Read full article >>
