January 30, 2012 | 12:31 PM | By

Where Are D.C.’s ‘Good’ Teachers?

D.C. schools with the fewest “effective” or “highly effective” teachers are concentrated in low-income parts of the city, according to a Washington Examiner analysis. The D.C. Public School System evaluates teacher effectiveness using a number of methods, including classroom evaluations and test scores. Garfield Elementary School, where 83 percent of students qualify for free or reduced lunches, has one such teacher per every 50 students.

Although schools with a high ratio of effective teachers to students are concentrated in wealthier parts of town, there are exceptions. For instance, Tubman Elementary School, where 81 percent of students qualify for free or reduced lunches, has one effective or highly effective teacher per every 11 students.

D.C. Council Chairman Kwame Brown, who has introduced legislation to incentivize more top teachers into low-income, underperforming schools, said these extremes in ratios of effective teachers emphasize the gulf between affluent and poor schools.

“If you just think about it, close your eyes, and don’t think about the location, don’t think about the kids at all — but took a stranger to those two schools, or showed them video — they could tell you right away which school had highly effective teachers,” he said.

Read more at: washingtonexaminer.com