This is food for thought as we look ahead to the 2015 legislative session. We have heard talk of eliminating teacher collective bargaining and tying teacher compensation to standardized test scores on top of last year’s removal of due process protections for teachers. We’re also hearing of increasing numbers of districts facing teacher shortages.

“But the belief that [getting rid of ‘bad apples’] will transform education is a fantasy, a fairy tale that conceals the true nature of the problem. In reality, fixing education will take much more than a change of personnel…[T]he key to improving teaching is not to ditch the under-performers, but is through providing effective support and professional development…And that is because the real reasons education systems fail to deliver are demographic, rooted in socio-economic circumstances, family background and attitudes towards education and work. These, however, are not only much less susceptible to change by policy-makers, they are also much harder to turn into a soundbite. Improving teaching through developing teachers also requires investment.” http://www.forbes.com/sites/nickmorrison/2014/11/30/getting-rid-of-the-bad-apples-wont-improve-schools/