I believe in public education. I want our children to learn from one another and grow — together — in excellent public schools. I want our children to be well-prepared for college, work and citizenship. But this is a fantasy as we alternately ignore, decorate or hide one of our country’s biggest obstacles to creating excellent public schools: ineffective teachers and leaders.

In a profession based on relationships and people performance, it’s surprising that we’ve let this issue sit there, rather comfortably, for so long. Why? Because we have no system in place that evaluates effective teaching and leading…

“Teachers, Schools and Academic Achievement,” a recent study led by economist Eric Hanushek at Stanford University, found that teacher effectiveness outweighs any other factor, including socioeconomic status, in determining student academic success. The study asserts that children from low-income communities could overcome the academic achievement gap by having “outstanding” teachers for five consecutive years…

Source: Seattle Times
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2003682649_kimberlylasher27.html