Report Puts Ind. Teachers At Top For Progress

(Undated) – Teachers usually give out grades to students, but a new report grading them shows they might have some work to do.

The 2011 State Teacher Policy Yearbook was released Wednesday by the National Council on Teacher Quality.

Indiana teachers earned a C+ in 2011, fifth in the nation. Indiana ranked first in the nation for overall progress.

The report cited Indiana’s new annual evaluations for all teachers, consequences for unsatisfactory evaluations, new pay scales connected to teacher performance, dismissal of teachers for classroom ineffectiveness, a state data system with the capacity to provide evidence of teacher effectiveness, and elementary teacher preparation.

States were graded on five criteria. Indiana received a C+ for delivering well prepared teachers, a D+ for expanding the teaching pool, a C for identifying effective teachers, a C- for retaining effective teachers, and a B for exiting ineffective teachers.

Indiana’s overall C+ grade is an improvement from the state’s D assigned by the same report in 2009.

The Hoosier state was one of just seven states to earn a grade of C+ or higher along with Florida, Michigan, Oklahoma, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Tennessee.

Ohio was tied with Indiana for 5th nationwide, also earning a C+. Ohio ranked 11th for progress by improving from a D+ in the council’s 2009 report.

Kentucky ranked near the bottom of the report with a D+, the same grade earned in 2009. The state was ranked 41st for progress over the past two years.

Florida received the report’s highest 2011 grade with a B. Montana was the lone state to receive an F.

The full report can be found online at http://www.nctq.org/stpy11Home.do.