The Edvocate

Top Menu

Main Menu

  • Start Here
    • Our Brands
    • Governance
      • Lynch Educational Consulting
      • Dr. Lynch’s Personal Website
      • Careers
    • Write For Us
    • Books
    • The Tech Edvocate Product Guide
    • Contact Us
    • The Edvocate Podcast
    • Edupedia
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
  • PreK-12
    • Assessment
    • Assistive Technology
    • Child Development
    • Classroom Management
    • Early Childhood
    • EdTech & Innovation
    • Education Leadership
    • Equity
    • First Year Teachers
    • Gifted and Talented Education
    • Parental Involvement
    • Policy & Reform
    • Special Education
    • Teachers
  • Higher Ed
    • Best Colleges and Universities
    • Best College and University Programs
    • Diversity
    • HBCU’s
    • Higher Education
    • Higher Education EdTech
    • International Education
  • Advertise
  • The Tech Edvocate Awards
    • The Awards Process
    • Finalists and Winners of The 2022 Tech Edvocate Awards
      • Finalists and Winners of The 2021 Tech Edvocate Awards
      • Finalists and Winners of The 2020 Tech Edvocate Awards
      • Finalists and Winners of The 2019 Tech Edvocate Awards
      • Finalists and Winners of The 2018 Tech Edvocate Awards
      • Finalists and Winners of The 2017 Tech Edvocate Awards
    • Award Seals
  • Apps
    • GPA Calculator for College
    • GPA Calculator for High School
    • Cumulative GPA Calculator
    • Grade Calculator
    • Weighted Grade Calculator
    • Final Grade Calculator
  • The Tech Edvocate
  • Pedagogue
  • P-20 Ed Careers

logo

The Edvocate

  • Start Here
    • Our Brands
    • Governance
      • Lynch Educational Consulting
      • Dr. Lynch’s Personal Website
        • My Speaking Page
      • Careers
    • Write For Us
    • Books
    • The Tech Edvocate Product Guide
    • Contact Us
    • The Edvocate Podcast
    • Edupedia
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
  • PreK-12
    • Assessment
    • Assistive Technology
    • Child Development
    • Classroom Management
    • Early Childhood
    • EdTech & Innovation
    • Education Leadership
    • Equity
    • First Year Teachers
    • Gifted and Talented Education
    • Parental Involvement
    • Policy & Reform
    • Special Education
    • Teachers
  • Higher Ed
    • Best Colleges and Universities
    • Best College and University Programs
    • Diversity
    • HBCU’s
    • Higher Education
    • Higher Education EdTech
    • International Education
  • Advertise
  • The Tech Edvocate Awards
    • The Awards Process
    • Finalists and Winners of The 2022 Tech Edvocate Awards
      • Finalists and Winners of The 2021 Tech Edvocate Awards
      • Finalists and Winners of The 2020 Tech Edvocate Awards
      • Finalists and Winners of The 2019 Tech Edvocate Awards
      • Finalists and Winners of The 2018 Tech Edvocate Awards
      • Finalists and Winners of The 2017 Tech Edvocate Awards
    • Award Seals
  • Apps
    • GPA Calculator for College
    • GPA Calculator for High School
    • Cumulative GPA Calculator
    • Grade Calculator
    • Weighted Grade Calculator
    • Final Grade Calculator
  • The Tech Edvocate
  • Pedagogue
  • P-20 Ed Careers
  • Transform Your Education Technology Marketing Strategies

  • Surprising Places Where Edtech Outshines America

  • Study Strategies for Your Style of Learning

  • Why Your Classroom Needs Online Learning

  • How Much Should Your ELearning Cost?

  • Main Ideas: Everything You Need to Know

  • First Year Survival Tips for a School Principal

  • Here’s Why You Should Learn Mandarin Chinese

  • 3 Easy Steps to Collaboration Tech

  • How Educators Use Artificial Intelligence to Add Instructional Value

Matthew LynchOpEducation
Home›Matthew Lynch›Court’s Striking of Teacher Tenure is Correct, but based on Faulty Premise

Court’s Striking of Teacher Tenure is Correct, but based on Faulty Premise

By Maybell9361
February 15, 2016
2216
3
Spread the love

Note: The following op ed comes to us courtesy of Robert Hardaway, professor of law at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and the author of “America Goes to School: Law, Reform, and Crisis in Public Education.”

The ruling last week by a California Superior Court Judge striking down teacher-tenure rules as unconstitutional properly recognizes the failure of public schools in that state to provide an adequate education, particularly for the poor and underprivileged. But the premise of that decision—the failure to fire enough ineffective teachers—understates and misidentifies the more significant causes of inferior public education.

In 1966, federal bureaucrats commissioned the U.S. Office of Education to conduct a comprehensive study of the inequalities in public education in such areas as financing, teacher-faculty ratios, teacher proficiency, and school facilities. The resulting study, now known as the “Coleman Report”, conducted the most comprehensive study in American history, surveying and testing over 600,000 students in 3000 American public schools. To the mortification of the bureaucrats who had commissioned the study in hopes of gaining support for more government spending by documenting presumed inequalities, the Coleman Report concluded, in the words of a Harvard Study, that “schools are not very important in determining student achievement. Families, and to a lesser extent peers (are) the primary determinants in performance.”

The Report found no relationship between class size, physical facilities, and student achievement. Although a very slight correlation was discerned between teacher proficiency and student achievement, even this slight correlation was fully explained by the fact that the most experienced teachers with the most seniority were more likely to request teaching assignments in schools with higher achieving students—that is, causation ran from achievement to experience, and not the other way around. Even more disconcerting to the bureaucrats was that when such inputs as family economic and social background were held constant, the data revealed the inconvenient truth that “no strong or systematic relationship between school expenditures and student performance.”

If the purport of the California Court decision is limited to restricting the prerogative of teachers with the most seniority to have preference in their teaching assignments, it is unlikely to have much effect on the quality of public education in that state, and the way will be open to bureaucrats to renew their demand for more spending as the cure for the failure of public education.

In the years after the release of the Coleman Report, it was vigorously attacked by an educational establishment determined to justify increased spending, but at a 1991 Harvard Symposium, even vocal critic Ronald Ferguson conceded that its “general conclusion (has) stood: no one (has been) able to find clear and important effects of school resources on student achievement in the Coleman data”.

In the years following the report’s submission, other data also confirmed its conclusion. Despite the fact that the U.S. spent more money per capita on public education than almost every other country in the world, its students placed 19th out of 20 in international achievement tests. In math, American 12 year olds finished 19th out of 20, managing to nudge out only Jordan. In Japan, by contrast, where many classrooms lacked central heating, classroom size exceeded 40-50 students, students were issued cheap paperbacks costing a dollar or less and asked to perform janitorial functions, and where per capita spending on public schools was less than one third that of the U.S., its students placed 2nd out of 20.

Even in the U.S., Iowa, which ranked 27th in per capita education expenditures ranked 1st in SAT scores, while schools in states which spent the most ranked near the bottom.

A key factor in student performance has also been shown to be a safe learning environment—the one element U.S. schools decline to provide. A 1984 government report revealed that “282,000 students were physically attacked in U.S. schools every month”, and that 5% of students in public schools had been wounded at school.

As a result, well-heeled parents seeking a safe learning environment for the children are willing to spend thousands of dollars to spend their children to private schools which spend less than half per capita of that expended by public schools, despite the fact that private school teachers are paid much less, and facilities are often inferior. But why should only wealthy parents be able to provide a safe learning environment for their children?

The answer can be found in large part in Supreme Court decisions such as Goss v. Lopez and which require schools to provide a full panoply of “rights” before suspending violent students so that others can learn—rights set forth in the Model School Disciplinary Code issued by the Center for Law and Education of Harvard University, and includes “the right to remain silent, the right to counsel, and the right of cross-examination (!)

Another answer can be found in the 1987 sequel to the Coleman Report, which, in the words of one student of that report observed: Private schools “enjoy a great advantage—namely a lack of funding…With less money (they) are…less likely to retain academic structures that fall fallen victim to pop trends and political pressure.”

The California Court decree no doubt was issued with the best intentions, but it will likely only serve as a diversion to the real crisis in public education.

 

TagsCaliforniaOpEducationTeacher Tenure
Previous Article

2 Stats about the Influence of a ...

Next Article

Morgan State Alumnus Donates $5 million to ...

Maybell9361

Related articles More from author

  • Uncategorized

    Obama’s Education Reform Dilemma

    September 4, 2016
    By Matthew Lynch
  • Teachers

    Attacks on tenure based on facile teacher ideals and stereotypes  

    January 12, 2016
    By Matthew Lynch
  • listMatthew LynchPolicy & ReformTeachers

    Tenure: 3 Groups Fighting Against Bad Teachers

    February 13, 2016
    By Matthew Lynch
  • HBCU'sHigher EducationMatthew Lynch

    2 Most Embarrassing HBCU Scandals and Mishaps of 2015

    December 8, 2015
    By Matthew Lynch
  • Education LeadershiplistMatthew LynchTeachers

    7 Elements All Top Schools Have

    February 8, 2016
    By Matthew Lynch
  • listMatthew LynchPolicy & Reform

    3 Entities That Rebelled Against Standardized Testing in the US

    March 10, 2016
    By Matthew Lynch

3 comments

  1. HeidiBelt 30 June, 2014 at 20:46 Reply

    If violence is the real crisis in public education, then the root crisis is the break down of the family system and maybe even taking prayer out of the schools.

  2. sarahrose00 16 November, 2014 at 19:44 Reply

    I found this article to be quite troubling, to be honest. It makes me really sad and scared as a parent. I’m amazed at how un-safe American schools are and wish we could find ways to end school violence.

  3. LiberalEd 16 November, 2014 at 20:00 Reply

    It’s unfortunate how poor America’s students are performing in comparison to other countries. I don’t have any specific suggestions, just badly want our public schools to turn around and be what they have the potential to be.

Leave a reply Cancel reply

  • Artificial Intelligence

    What will AI Mean for Higher Education?

  • Artificial Intelligence

    In a World of Artificial Intelligence, Where Does Emotional Intelligence Fit In?

  • Artificial Intelligence

    Artificial Intelligence Apps, Tools, and Resources That We Love

Search

Registration and Login

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Newsletter

Signup for The Edvocate Newsletter and have the latest in P-20 education news and opinion delivered to your email address!

Subscribe to The Edvocate Podcast

Apple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsAndroidby EmailRSS
  • Recent

  • Popular

  • Comments

  • Transform Your Education Technology Marketing Strategies

    By Matthew Lynch
    May 20, 2022
  • Surprising Places Where Edtech Outshines America

    By Matthew Lynch
    May 20, 2022
  • Study Strategies for Your Style of Learning

    By Matthew Lynch
    May 20, 2022
  • Why Your Classroom Needs Online Learning

    By Matthew Lynch
    May 19, 2022
  • How Much Should Your ELearning Cost?

    By Matthew Lynch
    May 19, 2022
  • 18 Reasons the U.S. Education System is Failing

    By Matthew Lynch
    April 3, 2017
  • The Top 5 Unexpected Benefits of Early Childhood Education

    By Matthew Lynch
    February 29, 2016
  • 7 Benefits of STEM Education

    By Matthew Lynch
    January 12, 2019
  • What is Culturally Responsive Pedagogy?

    By Matthew Lynch
    April 21, 2016
  • pass or fail

    Black Boys in Crisis: Why Aren’t They Reading?

    By Matthew Lynch
    January 16, 2017
  • Is My Student's High School Rigorous Enough? - Helping Your College Student Succeed
    on
    May 18, 2022

    Academic rigor: you’re doing it wrong and here’s why

    […] are or the ...
  • STEM Education - My Blog
    on
    May 16, 2022

    7 Benefits of STEM Education

    […] conclusion, STEM education ...
  • 100 Ideas for Your Research Paper Topics of 2019 | New Life Christian Center
    on
    May 16, 2022

    5 Ways Creative Writing Makes Students Productive and Motivated

    […] view.The ultimate goal ...
  • Stefanie B.C
    on
    May 12, 2022

    Pass or Fail: Standardized Testing and Education Problems in the U.S.

    I am the mother ...
  • 4 Strategies AI Will Be a Terrific Teaching Assistant – Ssc Wanfa
    on
    May 10, 2022

    Seven Things Assessment-Literate Educators Need to Do When Creating Quality Assessments

    […] is a further ...

Ask an Expert

  • Ask An Expert

    How Dumbed Down Education Is Creating a National Security Crisis

    Spread the loveFor the past few decades, our country’s educational system has seen both struggle and tremendous change. With the various ailments plaguing our educational system, education reforms have attempted ...
  • Ask An Expert

    21 Inspirational Quotes That Nelson Mandela Made About Education

    Spread the loveWe all have our heroes. Those human beings that seem larger than life and almost achieve Godlike status. One of my heroes is the late-great Nelson Mandela, who ...
  • Ask An ExpertAssistive TechnologyCareer ReadinessChild Development TechClassroom ManagementDigital & Mobile TechnologyDigital LeadershipDisabilitiesDiversityEarly ChildhoodEarly Childhood & K-12 EdTechEdTech & InnovationEducation LeadershipElementary EducationElementary SchoolEquityFirst Year TeachersFreshHigh SchoolK-12Middle SchoolModern ParentingParent & Family TechParental InvolvementParentingPersonalized LearningPodcastPolicy & ReformPreK-12Special EducationSTEMTeacher EducationTeachers

    The Edvocate Podcast, Episode 7: How Digital Age Teachers Can Win Over Parents

    Spread the loveEducation is a collaborative process, as it takes many stakeholders working in unison to help students succeed academically. One of the most integral parts of this collaborative team ...
  • Ask An ExpertAssessmentAssistive TechnologyBlack Boys in CrisisChild Development TechClassroom ManagementDigital & Mobile TechnologyDigital LeadershipDisabilitiesEarly ChildhoodEarly Childhood & K-12 EdTechEdTech & InnovationEdTech Policy & ReformEducation LeadershipElementary EducationElementary SchoolEquityFeaturedFirst Year TeachersFreshGamificationGifted and Talented EducationHBCU'sHigh SchoolHigher EducationK-12Online Learning & eLearningOpEducationPersonalized LearningPodcastPolicy & ReformRetention & Social Promotion SeriesSpecial EducationSTEMTeacher EducationTeachersTesting

    The Edvocate Podcast, Episode 6: 8 Ways That Digital Age Teachers Avoid Burning Out

    Spread the loveBeing a teacher is a tough job. So much so, many new teachers end up leaving the field within their first three years. To ensure that the next ...
  • Ask An ExpertAssessmentAssistive TechnologyBlack Boys in CrisisBullyingChild DevelopmentChild Development TechClassroom ManagementCurrent Ed NewsDigital LeadershipEarly ChildhoodEarly Childhood & K-12 EdTechEdTech & InnovationEdTech Policy & ReformEdTech Startups & BusinessesEducation LeadershipEquityFeaturedFirst Year TeachersFreshGamificationGifted and Talented EducationHBCU'sHigh SchoolHigher EducationHigher Education EdTechK-12Matthew LynchModern ParentingOnline Learning & eLearningOpEducationPersonalized LearningPodcastPolicy & ReformRetention & Social Promotion SeriesSpecial EducationSTEMTeacher EducationTeachersTestingYear-Round Schooling

    The Edvocate Podcast, Episode 5: The Archetype of a Great Teacher

    Spread the loveOne of the questions that I am frequently asked is, what does a good teacher look like? I respond by mentioning my 10th-grade Biology teacher, Mrs. Minor, and ...

International Education

  • International Education

    How International Baccalaureate (IB) Programs Work

    Spread the loveThe International Baccalaureate Program is a very intensive pre-college program in which when students get involved, they get college credit. Unlike most other learning initiatives, this program deeply ...
  • International Education

    Globalization: Everything You Need to Know

    Spread the loveGlobalization is the growing interconnectedness of countries around the world. It involves increasing communication and various forms of interaction between people of different nations, ethnicities and cultures. There ...
  • AssessmentEducation LeadershipHigher EducationInternational EducationProfessional DevelopmentTeachers

    So You Want to Attend Graduate School: The 411 on Grad School Admissions Tests

    Spread the loveApplying for admission to professional and graduate schools is no less competitive than college/undergraduate admissions. If you’re planning to pursue a degree in business, law, medicine, or graduate ...
  • Higher EducationInternational Education

    What Extracurricular Activities Impress Colleges the Most?

    Spread the loveWhen you apply to schools that offer holistic admissions or apply to a college using the Common Application, you will have to describe your participation in extracurricular activities. ...
  • Higher EducationInternational Education

    Tips for Working on a College Group Project

    Spread the loveIt can be a great experience to work together and do a group project in college. But it can also be a nightmare if there is no cooperation ...

Early Childhood Education

  • Early ChildhoodLanguage Education

    Long Vowels: Everything You Need to Know

    Spread the loveLong vowels are special vowel types that sound exactly like the letters which comprise them. Long vowels are typically taught after short vowels because while it seems less ...
  • Early Childhood

    What is a Digraph (vowel)?

    Spread the loveA vowel digraph refers to the distinctive perception of one sound when two vowels are placed together in one word. e.g., ow, oa, ie, ea. For learners, vowel ...
  • Early Childhood

    What is a Digraph (consonant)?

    Spread the loveA consonant digraph refers to the distinctive perception of one sound when two consonant letters are placed together in one word, e.g., ch, ng, sh, ph. It’s important ...
  • Early Childhood

    Modifications: Everything You Need to Know

    Spread the loveThis term refers to the adjustments made to what a child is required to learn in school. Some common examples of modifications include reworded questions in easier language, ...
  • Early Childhood

    Wraparound Services/Programs: Everything You Need to Know

    Spread the loveThese are programs that have social measures available for children who are at risk.  Hypothetically, these services are engineered toward developing a strong sense of self and the ...

Gifted and Talented Education

  • Gifted and Talented Education

    Twice-Exceptional: What Does it Mean?

    Spread the loveTo be twice-exceptional is to be exceptionally gifted in some academic aspects while being below average compared to peers in other aspects. As a matter of fact, such ...
  • Gifted and Talented Education

    A Guide to Talent Search Programs

    Spread the loveThe Talent Search Initiative has as its aim; the identification of high-performing students by organizing specific tests. Different avenues are then provided for these students to channel their ...
  • Gifted and Talented EducationK-12

    Homogeneous Grouping: What You Need to Know

    Spread the loveThis term refers to the grouping of students by mental capability, aptitude, or hobbies. For instance, gifted students are placed in one group, and students with special needs ...
  • Gifted and Talented Education

    Cluster Grouping: What You Need to Know

    Spread the loveThis term describes a manner of classifying gifted students to place them in properly segmented classrooms. For example, about five to seven extremely bright pupils with comparable skill ...
  • Gifted and Talented EducationHigher Education

    Merit Scholarships: Everything Your Need to Know

    Spread the loveThese are monetary gifts awarded by institutions to superbly gifted students, who have set themselves apart by their exceptional performance in schoolwork, regardless of whether they require the ...

Black Boys in Crisis Series

  • Black Boys in Crisis

    The Importance of Mentoring Young African-American Males

    Spread the loveTeachers need to realize that at home, in their neighborhoods, and in school, many students face difficulties that can interfere with learning. Compared to their middle-class counterparts, it ...
  • Black Boys in CrisisDiversityEquity

    7 Ways That Black Students are Discriminated Against in U.S K-12 Schools

    Spread the loveAfrican Africans have a long history of being mistreated in the United States, starting with slavery. It should come as no surprise that their children face the same ...
  • Ask An ExpertAssessmentAssistive TechnologyBlack Boys in CrisisChild Development TechClassroom ManagementDigital & Mobile TechnologyDigital LeadershipDisabilitiesEarly ChildhoodEarly Childhood & K-12 EdTechEdTech & InnovationEdTech Policy & ReformEducation LeadershipElementary EducationElementary SchoolEquityFeaturedFirst Year TeachersFreshGamificationGifted and Talented EducationHBCU'sHigh SchoolHigher EducationK-12Online Learning & eLearningOpEducationPersonalized LearningPodcastPolicy & ReformRetention & Social Promotion SeriesSpecial EducationSTEMTeacher EducationTeachersTesting

    The Edvocate Podcast, Episode 6: 8 Ways That Digital Age Teachers Avoid Burning Out

    Spread the loveBeing a teacher is a tough job. So much so, many new teachers end up leaving the field within their first three years. To ensure that the next ...
  • Ask An ExpertAssessmentAssistive TechnologyBlack Boys in CrisisBullyingChild DevelopmentChild Development TechClassroom ManagementCurrent Ed NewsDigital LeadershipEarly ChildhoodEarly Childhood & K-12 EdTechEdTech & InnovationEdTech Policy & ReformEdTech Startups & BusinessesEducation LeadershipEquityFeaturedFirst Year TeachersFreshGamificationGifted and Talented EducationHBCU'sHigh SchoolHigher EducationHigher Education EdTechK-12Matthew LynchModern ParentingOnline Learning & eLearningOpEducationPersonalized LearningPodcastPolicy & ReformRetention & Social Promotion SeriesSpecial EducationSTEMTeacher EducationTeachersTestingYear-Round Schooling

    The Edvocate Podcast, Episode 5: The Archetype of a Great Teacher

    Spread the loveOne of the questions that I am frequently asked is, what does a good teacher look like? I respond by mentioning my 10th-grade Biology teacher, Mrs. Minor, and ...
  • Ask An ExpertAssistive TechnologyBlack Boys in CrisisBullyingChild DevelopmentChild Development TechClassroom ManagementDisabilitiesDiversityEarly ChildhoodEarly Childhood & K-12 EdTechEdTech & InnovationEdTech Policy & ReformEducation LeadershipElementary EducationElementary SchoolEquityFeaturedFirst Year TeachersFreshGifted and Talented EducationHigh SchoolHigher EducationHigher Education EdTechK-12Middle SchoolModern ParentingOnline Learning & eLearningParent & Family TechParentingPersonalized LearningPodcastPolicy & ReformSecondary EducationSTEMTeacher EducationTeachersTesting

    The Edvocate Podcast, Episode 4: How to Create a Culturally Responsive Classroom

    Spread the loveBuilding a culturally responsive classroom is hard. To help you along your journey, here is your guide to exploring and respecting the cultural backgrounds of your students while ...

RSS Matthew on Education Week

  • Au Revoir from Education Futures November 20, 2018 Matthew Lynch
  • 6 Steps to Data-Driven Literacy Instruction October 17, 2018 Matthew Lynch
  • Four Keys to a Modern IT Approach in K-12 Schools October 2, 2018 Matthew Lynch
  • What's the Difference Between Burnout and Demoralization, and What Can Teachers Do About It? September 27, 2018 Matthew Lynch
  • Revisiting Using Edtech for Bullying and Suicide Prevention September 10, 2018 Matthew Lynch

About Us

The Edvocate was created in 2014 to argue for shifts in education policy and organization in order to enhance the quality of education and the opportunities for learning afforded to P-20 students in America. What we envisage may not be the most straightforward or the most conventional ideas. We call for a relatively radical and certainly quite comprehensive reorganization of America’s P-20 system.

That reorganization, though, and the underlying effort, will have much to do with reviving the American education system, and reviving a national love of learning.  The Edvocate plans to be one of key architects of this revival, as it continues to advocate for education reform, equity, and innovation.

Newsletter

Signup for The Edvocate Newsletter and have the latest in P-20 education news and opinion delivered to your email address!

Contact

The Edvocate
5322 Markel Road, Suite 104
Richmond, VA 23230
(601) 630-5238
[email protected]

Follow us

Copyright (c) 2022 Matthew Lynch. All rights reserved.