EDUCATION

State: Only two-thirds of ASD teachers 'highly qualified'

Jennifer Pignolet
jennifer.pignolet@commercialappeal.com
  • 97 percent of teachers statewide were considered "highly qualified" last year
  • Just 65 percent of ASD teachers earned the same designation

If your child attended a school in the state-run Achievement School District last year, there was a 1-in-3 chance the teacher in front of that classroom didn't have the highest level of qualification to teach that class.

The bar for that highest level is fairly low, as set by the Tennessee Department of Education: Have a bachelor's degree, a license and a demonstrated ability to teach the subject he or she is teaching. Statewide and in Shelby County Schools, about 97 percent of teachers met that standard last year, according to data released on the Tennessee State Report Card this month.

But just under 65 percent of ASD teachers last year were considered "highly qualified." That doesn't mean the other third weren't good teachers, or that the "highly qualified" teachers saw positive results in their classrooms. But it could indicate many teachers having to teach classes outside their subject area of expertise or being hired on an emergency basis.

"I think it’s a red flag but it doesn’t necessarily point to less effective teaching in these schools," said Gary Henry, a Peabody College of Education professor at Vanderbilt University who has extensively researched the ASD.

The state created the ASD five years ago using federal Race to the Top grant funding to transform schools performing in the bottom 5 percent across Tennessee. Its work has been controversial, as most schools' operations are outsourced to private charter networks, and results have been mixed.

The new data could raise concerns about whether the students most in need of help are receiving the best possible instruction. Each charter operator is responsible for hiring staff for their schools, not the umbrella ASD organization.

The ASD declined an interview but said in an email that the district, which mostly operates in Memphis, was still working to "reconcile" the newly released data. But last year, the numbers were nearly identical. The email said the ASD could not comment additionally.

Historically, the "highly qualified" statistic hasn't told families much, other than that teachers met a fairly basic standard of qualifications.

"It’s a relatively low bar for traditional schools to meet, but it’s probably not a meaningful statistic for parents to focus on when they’re thinking about choosing a school for their child," Henry said.

The exception is the rare case when a district doesn't have percentages of highly qualified teachers in the upper 90s. Teachers who are not considered "highly qualified" are most often either brought into the district with an emergency teaching certificate when a more qualified teacher can't be found, or are teaching outside their subject area.

For example, a veteran math teacher could be considered highly qualified when teaching math, but if asked to teach biology, wouldn't earn the same designation, explained Amy Wooten, the state's executive director of educator licensure and preparation. There are several ways a teacher can earn the "highly qualified" status, including many years teaching a subject with success.

The statistic came about through the federal No Child Left Behind education law as a way to make sure teachers were in charge of classes in subject areas they were qualified to teach.

"A lot of times you would see really high numbers of percentages of teachers highly qualified and there became questions about the relationship between being highly qualified and being highly effective," Wooten said. "We know that content knowledge is one aspect of being an effective teacher but there are other skills and knowledge that teachers need in order to be effective."

As a result, next year the state will move to a representation of the data that takes into account both whether a teacher has the highest level of qualifications and whether they are effective in the classroom. That will give parents more information, she said.

Henry said his research has shown the ASD often does a strong job of recruiting effective teachers but has a hard time retaining them. As for recruiting teachers that meet the "highly qualified" standard, Henry said the ASD operators may have other skill sets in mind when they search for the best person for the job.

"What it does tell you is they’re running these schools with a completely different model for what they look for in a teacher than has traditionally been used," he said. "They don’t fit the traditional model of hiring a teacher who’s gone through a traditional prep program and has her certification to teach a subject at a particular grade level."

Education Commissioner Candice McQueen converses with a Cornerstone Prep student during a visit in February. McQueen's drop-in comes in the wake of several calls locally and in Nashville to slow or abolish the ASD.