The [A.sup.+] teacher: deciding who is effective in the classroom is not as easy as it seems.

• Author: Exstrom, Michelle

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Effectiveness.

Decades of debate over how to improve schools and student achievement boils down to that word.

It seems simple enough. Teachers and principals who can help students do better in school and are effective at increasing competency and achievement are the key to a successful education system.

But the debate continues over what "being effective" even means. And if it can be defined in a generally accepted way, how do teachers accomplish it and how is it measured? The even greater challenge is changing a system that has long-held and deeply entrenched attitudes about teacher tenure and retention. Maybe the only thing everyone agrees on is that it won't be easy.

DEFINITION, PLEASE

Lawmakers know teachers and principals are the two most important components in schools. Recent efforts have opened the education field to a wider array of people, recruited them into hard-to-staff schools and subjects, provided better support and training once in they were in the classroom, and changed the way they were paid. Yet student achievement continues to stagnate.

Consider these statistics on U.S. educational rankings among 29 countries from the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development.

* Ninth on math scores among 8th grade students.

* 15th in reading literacy.

* 24th in problem-solving skills considered necessary to meet emerging workforce demands.

* 20th for years of educational attainment.

Add to these statistics, a national average high school graduation rate of 76 percent and a graduation rate in many big cities as low as 50 percent.

Many advocates for education reform argue the focus is misplaced. Instead of rewarding teachers and principals for years of experience and dwelling on the classes and degrees needed to meet the federal definition of "highly qualified," they say we should focus on "effectiveness" instead. Can the teacher push students to make solid academic achievement each year? Are struggling students improving under the teacher's watch? Is the principal effectively leading the school and creating the best working conditions for teachers?

This change of focus demands a vision of what it means to be an effective educator. Researchers have struggled to answer this very straight-forward question because it is so difficult to quantify. But legislators have argued that if it's important to put an effective teacher in every classroom, don't we first need to know what we are looking for?

Laura Goe, a research scientist at Educational Testing Service and the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality, suggests an effective educator should:

* Have high expectations for all students and help students learn, as measured by student growth benchmarks.

* Create an atmosphere where students want to attend school, are promoted on time to the next grade and graduate.

* Make learning interesting, monitor student progress, adapt instruction as needed, and evaluate learning using different kinds of tests.

* Value diversity and civic involvement.

* Collaborate with other...