[Mpls] Teacher experience; student poverty

[Steve Brandt]

I have to agree with Michael Atherton on this one.  Buzzy Bohn is correct that some very dedicated senior teachers choose to remain in high-poverty schools.  North Star school in the Jordan neighborhood is an excellent example, although it will close in a year.  However, overall there's a clear pattern that high-poverty schools have less-experienced teachers, and there's a correlation between that and test scores.

The district did a correlation analysis a year ago that covered middle schools and the middile grades of K-8 schools.  A variety of factors were correlated against passing rates on the 8th grade basic skills test. To quote from my story of June 14, 2004: "The analysis shows a strong link between low student performance and high teacher turnover. Teacher turnover ranked second in a laundry list of variables tested for their correlation with poor student progress over a three-year period."  Obviously a correlation is associational, but not necessarily causal.  Here is how schools shook out (results formiddle grades only of K-8s schools):

                 % Teacher  Median years  Median years  % pass      % pass
School           turnover   in district   in school     reading 03  math 03
Banneker           NA            3.5         1.0          3%         14%
Jordan Park        443           2.0         2.0         36          26
Lincoln            330           2.5         1.5         57           3
Green              317           3.0         2.0         40          19
Cityview           258           2.5         2.5         36          39
Andersen Open      222           4.5         3.0         33          30
Johnson            100           2.0         1.0         33          23
Northeast          100           2.0         1.0         62          59
Sullivan            83           8.0         5.0         57          48
Middle Grades       72           6.0         3.0         55          47
Olson               71           5.0         3.0         51          47
Emerson             67           4.5         2.0         82          82
Webster             64           6.0         6.0         46          41
Sheridan            58           7.0         4.0         59          49
Lake Harriet Upper  50           5.5         2.5         88          76
Seward              50          11.5         7.0         83          73
Laney               44           4.0         1.0         50          30
Four Winds          43           6.0         4.0         33          17
Anthony             42           8.0         3.0         71          63
Anwatin             42           6.5         4.0         64          60
Sanford             42           7.0         3.0         38          30
Davis               33           3.5         2.0         34          34
Franklin            31           6.0         3.0         50          47
Ramsey              31           4.0         4.0         62          48
Marcy               25          12.0         7.0         86          78
Folwell             15           6.0         5.0         40          31
Windom              14           6.0         6.0         55          45
Field               11           9.0         3.0         84          77
Barton               0          12.0         7.5         85          79
Jefferson            0           5.0         4.0         51          33
 
As I reported a month or so ago, a deal has been struck by Minneapolis and St. Paul teacher unions and their boards at the Legislature that would allow them to negotiate exceptions to the last-hired, first-fired layoff rules imposed by the teacher tenure act (which treats cities of the first class differently than other school districts in this regard.)  This change is in the omnibus school bills of both chambers that are hung up in the overall legislative impasse.  The change would take effect Aug. 1.  Assuming that contract negotiaitons are still in progress then, this could allow some exceptions to seniority in layoffs, which might help the turnover numbers for higher-poverty schools with more junior faculty.  However, any negotiated changes would not affect this year's layoffs, but those a year from now could look different.  

Steve Brandt
Star Tribune