This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

Closing the Gap: Have the Best Teachers Work With the Worst Students

Manchester Review Blog, Host: Jack Peak's profile picture
Manchester Review Blog, Host: Jack Peak, Neighbor
|

In spite of the fact that much of the achievement gap appears to be a result of differences in socio economic levels and ethnicity of students, the evidence is in that good teachers do make a difference. A study by Harvard and Columbia professors reported in The Economist (Oct. 12, 2013) finds that “good teachers are worth their weight in gold.”  Students who had good teachers earn more money in their lifetime and may be better prepared for retirement.

The professors used an allegedly “bias free” quality assessment of teachers against pupils’ achievements as adults. After controlling for students previous test scores and demographics they found that exposure to better teachers:

  • increases student probability of attending college

Find out what's happening in Manchesterwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

  • results in higher earnings as adults

  • reduced odds of teen pregnancy (who would have thought!)

Find out what's happening in Manchesterwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

  • increased participation in retirement savings plans

    • The problem is they also found that in many schools the better students are usually assigned to the better teachers. I personally know of many good teachers who were assigned mostly high level classes as a reward for their skill and tenure. This may result in a widening of  the achievement gap. What if the best teachers were made to work with the worst pupils? Would the achievement gap be reduced?

    We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

    The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

    More from Manchester