Study: Texas lags in support of newest teachers

Texas and most other states are doing a poor job of supporting their newest teachers, contributing to the high turnover rate for those teachers during their first five years on the job, according to a new study by an education research group. The study by the nonprofit National Council on Teacher Quality found that while Texas is making some progress in improving teacher quality, the state is missing the mark in several areas and deserves an overall grade of D+ for its efforts to retain effective new teachers. About half of all new teachers in Texas leave the profession within their first five years of employment. Here are the grades for Texas in three key areas: Identifying effective teachers – Grade: C- Texas lacks a meaningful process to evaluate the effectiveness of teachers, the group said. Retaining effective teachers – Grade: D+ Texas does not require mentoring for new teachers and state rules to receive permanent licenses are burdensome, according to the report. Exiting ineffective teachers – Grade: D+ Texas policies for removing ineffective teachers are weak and the state allows new teachers who have not passed certification exams to remain in the classroom for up to three years, the study found.