There are so many ways that traditional practices in American public education — many of which are tied to the traditional system of teacher compensation — shortchange poor and minority children. From seniority-based pay scales that only reward teachers for staying in place (and not for improving student achievement), to seniority-based rules on school assignment that restrict the ability of schools to keep high-quality teachers in place (and get rid of laggards), to even last in-first out layoff rules that force less-senior teachers out of classrooms without regard for performance, poor and minority kids constantly lose out.
In this presentation, University of Washington researcher Marguerite Roza — whose pioneering work on school spending has revealed many of these inequities — explains how the poorest and minority kids often get thrown to the back of the education bus. Watch, listen, consider and take action.
