The Education Reform Movement

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

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Charter Schools and Education Reform

In the film, Waiting for Superman, Davis Guggenheim accuses teachers unions of preventing education reform that would reward good teachers and remove poorly performing teachers. Guggenheim believes the majority of public schools teachers are incompetent, and retain their position with the public school system solely because of tenure. The teachers union prohibits the school from firing the teacher or placing them under disciplinary action because of poor job performance. This argument indicates that removing teachers unions from the public school system would allow for teacher accountability based on student performance. School administrators would place teachers who did not perform at a satisfactory level under disciplinary action or, in the most severe case, remove them. This would enable all students to succeed in the public school system because students would have the most effective teachers possible. However, the film fails to mention teachers work to educate their students effectively, or the idea of assisting underperforming teachers. The Executive Director of the National Education Association, John Wilson, promotes this aide. Rick Ayers adds to this, claiming the movie "vilifies" public school teachers and unions. Because of this, the inquiry focus of this paper is why the film Waiting for Superman uses the experience of students in inner-city schools to claim that the public school system breeds poor teachers, and that only charter schools foster excellent teaching and education. Students in inner city schools typically have the lowest rates of graduation in the country. A CBS News article claims, "About half of the students served by public school systems in the nation's largest cities receive diplomas" ("Big Cities Battle Dismal Graduation Rates"). Charter school advocates claim eliminating the tenure system and removing ineffective teachers would improve the achievement levels of students in inner city schools. Charter schools do not have the influence of the teachers union or the tenure system. This is what makes them advantageous for inner city schools, according to advocates. Despite this, when one reviews research regarding the benefits of charter versus public schools, he or she discovers that Waiting for Superman intentionally misleads viewers into thinking charter schools are the answer to decreasing standards in public education in urban schools. The education accountability movement has created films like Waiting for Superman to suggest charter schools will fix union problems in education; however, these movements have utilized misleading information that research contradicts, suggesting the need for evidence-based reforms in education.

The accountability movement in education began as an effort to improve student achievement in the public schools. Figlio and Loeb call school accountability "the process of evaluating school performance on the basis of student performance measures," particularly in inner city schools (384). Education stakeholders wanted to improve the learning of children within the public school system, so they decided to bring accountability to the public schools. If teachers could not bring student achievement scores on standardized tests up to a desired level, administrators brought disciplinary action onto them. An additional portion to the accountability movement is school choice. School choice gives families the option of deciding which school district they want their child to attend, as opposed to attending the appointed school district ("School Choice Movement Law & Legal Definition"). Toma and Zimmer examine how charter schools grew out of the school choice movement:

Charter schools grew out of a larger school choice movement in which advocates argue that providing families with greater choice of schools with greater flexibility of operation will create better matches between educational needs and school services while at the same time promoting healthy competition for the enrollment (and per pupil funding) of students (209).

Advocates claim charter schools create a free market in the public school system where families can choose where to send their children to school, which leads to a better educational outcome. However, the inception of charter schools has created a negative environment within education where there is continual victimization of public school teachers. The film Waiting for Superman claims teachers unions in public schools prevent education reform. Charter schools do not have the regulatory influence of the teachers union. This prohibits tenure, and only allows effective teachers to keep their job. However, research shows that charter schools are not an effective solution to the problems facing education today. Having all students in charter schools will not increase student achievement, contrary to the claims of Waiting for Superman. In reality, charter schools present an equal number of problems as public schools.

Proponents claim effective teaching only takes place in charter schools. There is too much focus on tenure and teachers unions in the public school system. The absence of teachers unions in charter schools leads to increased student performance. However, Stuit and Smith find the majority of teachers in charter schools are inexperienced. Many teachers in these schools have less than three years of working experience. Some teachers lack a state certificate to teach. Still, other teachers work part-time, and they have the highest rates of job exodus within the charter school system. However, there is a high turnover rate in all of these charter schoolteachers, regardless of their level of teaching experience. The lack of teachers unions is the single greatest predictor of high job termination in charter schools. Possible reasons for this include the streamlining of the removal process for underperforming teachers, and teachers leaving these schools because of a lack of job security. Administrators can easily remove unsatisfactory teachers. Teachers may also wish to have the safety net provided with tenure status. While the levels of monetary satisfaction are similar for charter school and public school teachers, salary and benefits are a larger reason for turnover in charter schools than in public schools. Teachers in charter schools are three times more likely to leave their job because of working conditions. According to statistics, charter schools may lose "one in four teachers every year" (Stuit and Smith 278). This makes instruction difficult because there are continual disruptions in instruction throughout the school year. Conditions such as larger class sizes and inexperienced teachers may contribute to this high turnover rate. Bess Keller cites similar findings in Teacher Quality. She finds there is a high resignation rate of teachers in urban and high needs schools, and that veteran teachers choose to work at suburban schools. The majority of teachers at urban schools are young and inexperienced. From this evidence, the reader can assume that much of teaching in charter schools is ineffective.

Not only are there severe implications for teachers working in charter schools, but there are noticeable differences for student performance. According to Imberman, students in the elementary grade levels in charter schools have diminished scores in math and language arts compared to their peers in the public schools. This pattern does not occur in middle or high schools. Charter schools also have an impact on students in public schools. Parents moving their children to charter schools lead to public school funding cuts because the number of pupils enrolled in a school determines a school’s yearly financial resources. To balance the finances of the school, administrators cut student services. Some of these areas affected include "extra tutoring, counseling or school maintenance" (Imberman 862). Other consequences include a decrease in student and teacher morale, which may diminish student achievement in the public schools. Elementary schools particularly reflect this, possibly because the funding for elementary schools is less flexible than in middle or high schools. High schools can cut programs such as art, band, drama, clubs, and so forth. There are not very many programs like this in elementary schools. Charter schools seem to have a negative impact on students in both charter and public school institutions.

Suit and Smith report many effects resulting from the lack of a regulatory agency in charter schools. Administrators can "streamline the process of dismissing low-performing teachers" within the school, since the teachers union has no presence in these schools, and teachers cannot achieve a tenured status (274). This promotes accountability in the charter schools because administrators can remove teachers if their students’ academic achievement is not up to a high standard. It would seem that this effect is exactly what the advocates of education accountability desire: an easy way to remove teachers whose students are not performing at a satisfactory level on standardized tests. However, there is a large downside to this process. Teachers in charter schools quickly move to a public school teaching position to acquire the job security given by the teachers union. This helps explain the high exodus rate of teachers from the charter school system. It would seem as if efforts in providing accountability to increase student achievement actually hinder student performance. Students find it very difficult to adjust to a school climate where their teachers are continuously seeking jobs with protection. Students may never know when they are getting a new teacher. This increases pupil stress levels and decreases academic achievement. A regulatory agency, such as the teachers union, actually helps students in academic achievement, contrary to claims of education activists.

Imberman reports procedural differences in behavioral modification between charter and public schools. According to his research, charter schools create "significant drops in disciplinary infractions in middle and high school public school students of two-tenths of an infraction per year" (851). This implies that teachers use less behavioral consequences in charter schools because student behavior is better. However, Imberman is unclear as to whether this involves a difference in behavior or merely changes in school rule enforcement between public and charter schools. Within this context, it would seem that, in charter schools, students are allowed to behave inappropriately more often because of differences in rule implementation. However, researchers require more research to discern whether this is true and due to a difference in the school system.

The education reform movement has led to considerable controversy over how best to improve the achievement of youth in academic achievement. Documentaries such as Waiting for Superman place the blame solely on the teachers union because they claim the tenure status of teachers prevents schools, such as those in inner cities, from removing underperforming teachers. These films advocate for the charter school system, using supporting evidence that shows these schools can reform education. Their reasoning is, because the teachers union has no regulatory effect in charter schools, administrators can easily remove teachers that are not teaching students the necessary skills they will need in the future. These solutions claim that that charter schools are somehow better than public schools. However, this assertion is misleading, because research describing the benefits of charter schools indicates that going to a charter school can actually hinder school performance. Many of the teachers in the charter school system are inexperienced. They have taught less than three years, or lack required state teaching certification. The absence of a state teaching certificate indicates that the teacher has not attended a teacher education program from an accredited college of education, which can diminish the quality of education students receive in charter school. In addition, the class sizes are larger in charter schools, and students in the elementary grades in charter schools have lower achievement scores in math and language arts than their peers in public schools. There are many other issues with charter schools; however, research overall indicates that promoting charter schools is not a viable option to reform education. The lack of a teachers union seems to hinder the performance of teachers in charter schools, contrary to the claims of documentaries such as Waiting for Superman. If education reformers wish to resolve the problems facing education today, they need to focus on other solutions besides blaming teachers unions and advocating for charter schools. Reformers need to find evidence-based solutions that can be effective in improving teacher performance and student achievement. Only then can students from diverse backgrounds in America’s education system master the educational proficiencies needed to excel in the world of tomorrow.