Maximizing Teacher Quality through Strategic Hiring Initiatives

1. Teacher Hiring How superintendents can help principals and HR do a better job

2. Impact of Teacher Quality • What’s a good teacher worth? • What does a bad teacher cost? • Research with value-added measures of student achievement

5. “The difference between a good and a bad teacher can be a full level of achievement in a single school year.” Eric Hanushek, U of Rochester

6. “Differences in teacher effectiveness were found to be the dominant factor affecting student academic gains.” Wright, Horn, and Sanders, U of Tennessee

7. Conclusions? Of all the “controllable” variables in a school district, the one that impacts student achievement the most is teacher quality.

8. What’s a Good Teacher Worth? • From a parent’s perspective? • From a school district’s perspective? • From a business’s perspective? • Beyond an interview, what should principals and district HR managers do to bring in top quality teachers?

9. Assumptions • The only active parts of a school system are the people. Everything else — buildings, computers, textbooks, curricula — just sits there until a person puts it to use to educate students. • Better people do better work. • Over the long term, the best way to improve is to hire better people.

10. Key Leverage Points for Better Hiring • Recruiting • Screening • Making Evidence-Based Decisions

11. Superintendent’s Role • Evaluating where you are now • Leading improvements

12. Recruiting

13. Effective Recruiting • If you don’t get this right, you’re pretty much out of luck. • Recruiting is competitive marketing • 10% creativity; 90% effort

14. Evaluate Your Recruiting Program • Look at yourself through the eyes of an applicant • Apply for a teaching job. • How welcoming is the process? How much red tape? • Check how you stack up against other districts? Why would a top quality candidate choose you? • Are your materials professional, up-to-date, and attractive? • Brochures • Booth • Website

15. Evaluate Your Recruiting Program • Are you among the first to get started? • Do you have timely data from principals on how many vacancies and what kind? • What are your competitive advantages? How are you using them? • Anything creative? Or the same old thing?

16. Lead Improvement • Ask HR for upgrades to materials, website (Nov.) • Ask for a recruiting plan (January) • Dates for starting, interviewing, offers, etc. • Projected numbers and positions • Sources (where you’ll get the applicants) • Methods (how you’ll advertise) • Meet with HR and principals (March) • Team effort: HR leads process, principals support • Schedule times at job fairs for HR, principals, teachers • Set an example

17. Lead Improvement • Review meeting (May) • Principals: Did you have an ample supply of quality applicants? • HR: Did you have sufficient resources, money and people? • What were your successes and shortfalls? • What improvements should be made for next year? • HR produces a revised recruiting plan (January)

18. Screening

19. Effective Screening • Provides data on how likely it is that an applicant will become a high quality teacher. • Based on “requirements” • Knowledge, skills, motivation needed to perform well • Things that cause new teachers to fail (contract non-renewal, terminations, turnover) • Understanding what differentiates your best teachers from average performers

20. Where are you now? • Do you have a systematic screening process used by all your schools? • Do you have a written list of requirements for teachers? • Do you have credible ways of assessing applicants against the requirements?

21. Exercise 1 • List five requirements for the job of teacher. • Hint: There are three kinds of requirements. • Conceptual (teaching knowledge, intelligence, subject matter knowledge) • Motivational (achievement, conscientiousness, work ethic) • Interpersonal (classroom management skills, ability to work well with peers, sense of empathy) • Have at least one of each kind in your list.

22. Measurements • How do you know if an applicant meets your requirements? • Interview – structured, behavioral interview • Resume, certifications • References • Tests • Personality • Intelligence • Simulations

23. Where are you now? • What kind of measures do you use now? • Is there a logical connection between the measures and the teacher requirements? • Does the measure provide credible information?

24. Leading Improvement • This is a technical area, and your HR manager is likely to need some help (psychometrics). • If you’re not using structured interviews, ask HR to learn how and teach everyone else (including site-based councils). • Review measures and challenge those that are not credible (in your eyes). • Professionally-developed written tests for conceptual skills and personality are cheap and very helpful. Ask HR to start using them.

25. Exercise 2 • List the measures you will use to assess applicants against your requirements. • Have at least one measure for each requirement.

26. Evidence-Based Decisions

27. Make Evidence-Based Decisions • Human decision making • Make an initial, quick evaluation • Then collect data to support our first impression • Willing to use whatever information is available • Set the stage for making good decisions • Gather good quality information • Postpone final judgment until all data is in • Compare candidates • Involve more that one person in making the decision

28. Where are you now? • Survey principals: “Tell me how you make teacher hiring decisions. What do you look for? How do you evaluate the applicants?” • Ask new teachers in different schools to describe how they were hired. • Look for: • Consistency from school to school • Focus on most important requirements • Amount and quality of data used to make the decision • Ask HR what assistance they give to principals in making hiring decisions.

29. Leading Improvement • Have a “selection plan” for all jobs • HR’s responsibility • Ensures that • Requirements are written down • Some thought given on how to assess applicants against the requirements • With HR manager, review a hiring decision at each school. Ask to see the selection plan. Have HR and the principal explain how it works.

30. Sample Selection Plan

31. Exercise 3 • Create a selection plan using your requirements and measures. • Make sure there is at least one measure for each requirement.

32. Superintendent Selection Plan

33. Recap • Hiring top quality teachers is the best way to improve student achievement. • Three key leverage points for improving hiring • Recruiting • Screening • Decision making • You have • Ideas for evaluating where you stand • Suggestions for leading improvements • A selection plan for teachers