Introduction

Most parents don’t know that Washington state law imposes hundreds of pointless rules that keep the best teachers out of public schools.  SB 6067 would eliminate one such rule.

The ban on hiring good teachers does not apply to private schools.  This is one reason private schools are consistently better than public ones.  A Harvard Graduate School of Education study found that a formal teaching certificate “matters little” in raising student classroom achievement.^[1]

By the way, money is not the reason private schools are generally better; on average public schools receive more funding than private ones.

Reducing limits on hiring good teachers

SB 6067 moves in the right direction by repealing RCW 28A.410.280, a rule in place since January 2014 that makes teachers jump through a hoop called the edTPA, a 70-page exercise that comes with a hefty $300 fee.  Teachers at private schools are not required to take this test.

Better yet lawmakers should allow any qualified professional to be hired at a public school.  It is a little silly that Bill Gates, Jr. can’t teach math in a public high school; he doesn’t have state-approved certificate.

Mastery of subject matter, not paper credentials, make a good teacher

Harvard researchers found that a teacher’s mastery of subject matter is far more important to student learning than a state-issued certificate.  In the real world of classrooms and children, there is little relation between paper certificate requirements and being a good teacher.

The legislature has granted private schools the advantage of hiring based on quality and experience rather than paper credentials.  Many private schools hire quality faculty who hold doctorate degrees or are experienced business professionals, but do not hold formal teaching certificates.

These are not elite private schools; they are often located in low-income neighborhoods and their teachers take on the noble work of educating the hardest-to-teach students.  Lawmakers should allow public schools to recruit the best classroom talent available on an equal basis as their private sector counterparts.

Effective teachers raise student achievement

Teacher tenure laws grant automatic lifetime employment to public school teachers after three years, making it nearly impossible to fire a bad teacher in a public school.  Private schools, in contrast, may hire and fire teachers at will, allowing private schools to dismiss poor performers and continuously improve teacher quality.

Research shows that an effective teacher in the classroom is more important than any other factor, including smaller class size, in raising student achievement.^[2]  A good teacher can make as much as a full year’s difference in the learning growth of students.^[3]

Students taught by a high-quality teacher three years in a row score 50 percentile points higher on standardized tests than students of weak teachers.^[4]  The research also shows that students taught by a weak teacher two years in a row may never catch up. The research indicates the best teachers have the following qualities:^[5]

            ●  Mastery of the subject matter;

            ●  Five years or more of teaching experience;

            ●  Training in content knowledge and high levels of classroom competency;

            ●  Strong academic skills, curiosity and excitement about learning for its own sake.

Creating renewed respect for teachers

Teachers should be hired based on a knowledge and a sense of excitement about the subject they will present to students. Teachers who show results, regardless of certification status, should be rewarded and encouraged.  Teachers who do not should be dismissed, regardless of artificial certification and tenure rules.

Conclusion

In addition to SB 6067, lawmakers should repeal lifetime tenure rules and limits on teacher hiring to allow public schools to draw new talent into the profession.  The result would be renewed respect for teachers and, most importantly, a better learning environment for students, so that Every Child Learns.