Inexperience Reigns — Uplink Archive

Baltimore Sun reporters discovered that disadvantaged schools with the lowest test scores and highest poverty rates are staffed disproportionately with inexperienced teachers, limiting equal access to quality education. The finding was substantiated through teacher turnover data showing a concentration of less experienced educators in schools serving the largest minority populations.

Mike Himowitz had often heard Baltimore County's neediest schools were getting stuck with the greenest teachers. But it wasn't until Baltimore Sun reporter Marego Athans ran across some teacher turn-over data that the two were able to substantiate the problem. Athans discovered one school administrator disturbed by the trend had been keeping track of teacher transfers and turnover and years of teaching experience.

Himowitz, the Sun's electronic news editor, said the numbers jumped off the page. They supported complaints that Himowitz had heard for years as a former education reporter and Baltimore County bureau chief. The result was a story in the June 4 Baltimore Sun detailing how teachers without much experience are concentrated in disadvantaged schools with the lowest test scores, highest poverty rates and usually the largest minority populations.

In other words, Athans said, students do not have equal access to experienced teachers. She reported that according to several national reports, teacher experience is one of the most important factors in student achievement.