So,how do you make education better?
Now,our foundation,for the last nine years,has invested in this.There's many people working on it.We've worked on small schools,we've funded scholarships,we've done things in libraries.A lot of these things had a good effect.But the more we looked at it,the more we realized that having great teachers was the very key thing.And we hooked up with some people studying how much variation is there between teachers,between,say,the top quartile -- the very best -- and the bottom quartile.How much variation is there within a school or between schools?And the answer is that these variations are absolutely unbelievable.A top quartile teacher will increase the performance of their class -- based on test scores -- by over 10 percent in a single year.What does that mean?That means that if the entire U.S.,for two years,had top quartile teachers,the entire difference between us and Asia would go away.Within four years we would be blowing everyone in the world away.
So,it's simple.All you need are those top quartile teachers.And so you'd say,"Wow,we should reward those people.We should retain those people.We should find out what they're doing and transfer that skill to other people." But I can tell you that absolutely is not happening today.
What are the characteristics of this top quartile?What do they look like?You might think these must be very senior teachers.And the answer is no.Once somebody has taught for three years their teaching quality does not change thereafter.The variation is very,very small.You might think these are people with master's degrees.They've gone back and they've gotten their Master's of Education.This chart takes four different factors and says how much do they explain teaching quality.That bottom thing,which says there's no effect at all,is a master's degree.
Now,the way the pay system works is there's two things that are rewarded.One is seniority.Because your pay goes up and you vest into your pension.The second is giving extra money to people who get their master's degree.But it in no way is associated with being a better teacher.Teach for America:slight effect.For math teachers majoring in math there's a measurable effect.But,overwhelmingly,it's your past performance.There are some people who are very good at this.And we've done almost nothing to study what that is and to draw it in and to replicate it,to raise the average capability -- or to encourage the people with it to stay in the system.
You might say,"Do the good teachers stay and the bad teacher's leave?" The answer is,on average,the slightly better teachers leave the system.And it's a system with very high turnover.
Now,there are a few places -- very few -- where great teachers are being made.A good example of one is a set of charter schools called KIPP.KIPP means Knowledge Is Power.It's an unbelievable thing.They have 66 schools -- mostly middle schools,some high schools -- and what goes on is great teaching.They take the poorest kids,and over 96 percent of their high school graduates go to four-year colleges.And the whole spirit and attitude in those schools is very different than in the normal public schools.They're team teaching.They're constantly improving their teachers.They're taking data,the test scores,and saying to a teacher,"Hey,you caused this amount of increase." They're deeply engaged in making teaching better.