Staffing Up and Dropping Out

Growing public school enrollment and the need to maintain or improve service to students has increased the demand for teachers, perhaps more rapidly than existing sources can accommodate. While some schools recruit well qualified teachers by offering higher salaries or better working conditions, others may satisfy their need for staff by relaxing hiring standards or assigning novice teachers to difficult classrooms. Schools' hiring policies have consequences for student success. Dropout rates tend to be higher where faculties include a greater percentage of minimally educated teachers or teachers with little experience. The relationship between dropout rate and teacher qualifications is independent of student poverty, school size, and location. A proposed strategy to reduce dropout rates is to encourage higher preparation and employment standards, and to provide appropriate classroom assignments, mentoring, and support for new teachers

Unexpected Testing Practices Affecting English Language Learners and Students with Disabilities Under No Child Left Behind

The testing and accountability requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act impose sanctions on schools for not making adequate yearly progress in student achievement. The sanctions may encourage inappropriate practices intended to raise scores of low performing student subgroups. This article considers evidence and consequences of misclassification of English language learners as students with disabilities

Redalyc.Policymaking in Education: Understanding Influences on the Reading Excellence Act

Abstract Educators and researchers are being called to participate in language and literacy policy makin