Well, teachers aren;t the only reason, so it will be unfair to sack all the teachers. We all know that it's an effort among the administration, teachers, and parents. Non-English speaking students could be one of the reason. The other reason is also the number of students with learning disabilities...we were told at one of the meetings that children with LD are not tested separately here in Michigan tests called the MEAPS. Some schools also only teach the syllabus geared towards achieving high scores in the MEAPS as opposed to our school district where the focus is "general" and not MEAP specific.

I think teachers should be rated keeping all those scenarios in mind.

Let's also remember that the student population in lower-income schools and areas have a greater amount of turnover. So while good teachers may be making progress with certain students, when these, sometimes almost, transient families take off to a new school again, it is like starting over. In many middle and higher income neighborhoods, kids start kindergarten and make it through graduation through the same school system - teachers and administrators, and even parents can more easily recognize each child's strengths and weaknesses with this kind of consistency. Not to say that all children who move will struggle in school, but when they average more than 2 schools per year, no one really has time to develop the relationships needed to help enhance individual strengths while helping to overcome or even compensate for their weaknesses.

I think first we look to see that the teachers are meeting and hopefully exceeding their own education requirements. That they are up to date on their skills, perhaps involved in continued education.

Then talk to parents and find out how they rate the teachers; are they connecting with students? do they teach or just spout information?

Also we need to look at the curriculum. We lived in WA state for 2 years before heading back to CA and found that our daughter's schooling/progress reports took a nose dive. We always help her to understand her homework and in WA state we found it difficult and at times impossible to comprehend what it was asking a student to do.

Set test standards, test them, and sack the inadequate. The counseling is miserable, the teachers don't care, and you have a junior GI squad, the NJROTC, that adds nothing, and takes away much. Rep. Walden's aides told me (on his last visit) that this activity is totally useless, and the "show" was embarrassing to them. Join the scouts

In some states, that can possibly happen - but doesn't. Some states have taken schools they've deemed failing and turned them over to the Edison Schools - an interesting private group that manages some public schools. But to my understanding the Edison people are obligated to keep the current faculty. The same when a state takes over a failing school - they keep the current faculty.
Why? Not the least reason would be that many states have powerful teachers' unions. The second largest union in the country is the 'NEA" - the National Education Association whose name disguises what it really is - not an 'association' at all but a teachers' union and a powerful union whose support is always sought by presidential candidates. Tossing out a whole group of teachers would usually violate their contracts - in many states, it's difficult to toss out even one teacher if that teacher has achieved 'tenure'.No policy hurts schools more than 'tenure' and no organization has done public schools more harm than the teachers' union.
I'd also say - having lived through a school expansion that necessitated the rapid doubling of the faculty in two years times - that hiring a whole group of teachers at once creates total chaos in a school. It would take a Very Strong principal to manage the transition if an entire school of new teachers were hired at once.
All that said, I do really like what you've said. We most often walk on eggshells when we talk about improving schools and do these tiny little things that have absolutely no positive impact at all. While I don't think it's possible to 'out with the old and in with the new' when it comes to an entire faculty, I thoroughly admire your bold thinking and think we need more of it when it comes to thinking about schools.

I agree, I feel that our state, or if I am wrong local school system is more concerned with behavior modification than the importance of curiosity and meeting more customized challenges. I was told by a Vice Principal that tenured teachers especially, have little to no exp, in understanding the needs of gifted kids. It seens that if the state is investing in GRC programs then they would better educate teachers towards the needs of said children, by investing in mandatory education for all public school teachers to better understand gifted children instead of attacking them socially.

Thank you for your feedback, however I don't necessarily think that out with the old and in with the new is the answer. I just feel that too many teachers hide behind there tenure. If children are our future then we need to help them., by helping there educators learn that gifted children esp. should be given the privilege of keeping there individuality instead of the current falling in line of the pecking order. Being the son of a 33 yr retired elementary teacher as well as a family of educators. I have seen a lack encouragement on behalf of his teachers when he gets a perfect score on a math test, and more notations about concern about his blending in. I need too find out if I am the problem or if my desire to cultivate my sons interests is the correct logic. I am glad to know that I am not alone in this great question.

I was ready with a terriby insightful response to this question, but MagnetMom nailed it. It takes parents and teachers and kids working together. I would find it a highly unlikely scenario that every teacher in a low-performing school was failing the kids....more likely, it's a tougher student population that has a language, cultural or socioeconomic barriers that hinder the kids from being successful. And those barriers create a tricky teaching atmosphere. I'm not saying there aren't unmotivated or even unqualified teachers out there. There are. But we have to face realities that an appreciation for the value of an education has to start at home.

speaking as someone who lives outside of the state of washington, but will be moving there soon, I think the test scores in elementary schools are particularly atrocious in pasco. I cant believe that schools can keep functioning as such with falling scores every year. I have 3 kids elem ages, and I admit I am considering homeschooling after seeing what is offered in pasco. How sad for the children who attend those schools!

I so agree with you, I recently put my children into public school (due to having to go to work). I am shocked at the lack of teaching. My sons first grade teacher actually told me she only expects higher standards from the kids that show they can already do the work. Prior to her class he was writing short stories, and forming sentences, he no longer does because she does not require it, nor does she correct spelling. Understand I know he is young but you show them the correct way to teach Eighth grade does not expect their class to succeed because they do not already know the work! Excuse me, but why are there teachers there but to show them what they are doing wrong, and how to fix it. I have only had them in for 3 weeks and I am trying to figure how I can home school them out of work, so I do not lose them to the so called system.

Okay, I just have to say, I must be the luckiest mom on the planet. My children attend public school - the expectations are high for all kids - writing is integral to their entire learning process; they start short story skills in kindergarten. Our tenured teachers still have the passion needed to be effective. In fact, we have three teachers at our elementary who have been teaching for over 30 years who are retiring this year, and still teach everyday and expect all the children to do their personal best. And, my district has an unwarranted reputation of being of poor quality. So call me spoiled, but the public schools here seem to be working.

I teach at a school that ranks low but we take all of the students that no other school wants. We rank low because it takes at least a year to help students catch up - they begin high school reading at 3rd grade levels and math ability is about as bad.
The students that stay at our school eventually do quite well but many have attendance problems and don't take required tests which causes the school to be ranked low. the transitory nature of the student population is the major reason our school does poorly when compared to others.

It is hard to tell what kind of improvement is being made in a school with the way NCLB sets up its comparisons - for the most part you can tell if a school is improving if one year's scores are higher than the year before, but what people forget is that you need to compare, for example, this year's fourth graders to last year's third graders - to see if improvement has actually occured. 3rd to 3rd is comparing apples to oranges - you could say that great improvement within the same grade level is due to improved teaching skills or it could simply be that the 3rd grade students in the second year have more involved parents and just aren't a group of kids with as many struggles. I know I have been writing my congressmen and senators urging them, when they decide to get back to working on it, to fix some of the blaring errors in NCLB.