I came across a story with the following heading: “Five Tucson Unified ‘D’ schools struggle to fill teaching jobs.”
The story from Tucson last week is unsurprising in the modern education world. Currently, Arizona schools are given letter grades meant to help parents “easily understand school performance and quality.” However, as it turns out, these grades also impact teacher hiring, as teachers use them to judge schools when seeking jobs.
Not surprisingly, five Tucson schools with a ‘D’ grade are struggling to fill open staff positions. This is predictable - what does a ‘D’ grade signal to potential teachers? It indicates the school is under-resourced, serves a disadvantaged community without extra support, focuses heavily on standardised testing, and (perhaps) has low staff morale. It associates the teacher with a "failing" school. Who would have known that this would be unattractive to job seekers? The article does note, however, that some still take positions at these schools due to personal ties, enjoying a challenge, or “lacking other options.”
As we well know, letter grades don’t necessarily reveal new information. But formalising a school’s struggles with a D brand makes "Come work at our failing school" a uninspiring pitch. This grading system clearly hampers the school’s ability to strengthen its future through quality staff hiring. The teacher hiring woes in Tucson schools are just one more reason states should reconsider these simplistic schemes.
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Grades for schools?
Grades for schools?
Grades for schools?
I came across a story with the following heading: “Five Tucson Unified ‘D’ schools struggle to fill teaching jobs.”
The story from Tucson last week is unsurprising in the modern education world. Currently, Arizona schools are given letter grades meant to help parents “easily understand school performance and quality.” However, as it turns out, these grades also impact teacher hiring, as teachers use them to judge schools when seeking jobs.
Not surprisingly, five Tucson schools with a ‘D’ grade are struggling to fill open staff positions. This is predictable - what does a ‘D’ grade signal to potential teachers? It indicates the school is under-resourced, serves a disadvantaged community without extra support, focuses heavily on standardised testing, and (perhaps) has low staff morale. It associates the teacher with a "failing" school. Who would have known that this would be unattractive to job seekers? The article does note, however, that some still take positions at these schools due to personal ties, enjoying a challenge, or “lacking other options.”
As we well know, letter grades don’t necessarily reveal new information. But formalising a school’s struggles with a D brand makes "Come work at our failing school" a uninspiring pitch. This grading system clearly hampers the school’s ability to strengthen its future through quality staff hiring. The teacher hiring woes in Tucson schools are just one more reason states should reconsider these simplistic schemes.
The AutSide is a reader-supported publication. To support my work, consider becoming a paid subscriber.