Study: Good Teachers Leave Black Students

Here's some troubling news: A study by Professor C. Kirabo Jackson, published last month in the Journal of Labor Economics, found that the best ranked teachers in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg, NC school district leave when there is an influx of black students at the schools where they teach. The study was conducted around the time that the district stopped busing students between schools to encourage diversity, allowing for information to be gathered about the impact of racial makeup on teacher quality. Overall, black teachers were more likely to stay in these schools, whereas the average white teacher was no more or less likely to the transfer based on school population. But high quality teachers, who were categorized based on their years of experience and certification scores, were likely to leave when schools found an increase in black enrollment. Furthermore, teacher effectiveness was reported to decrease upon this influx.

Jackson noted that the information, "is particularly sobering because it implies that, all else equal, black students will systematically receive lower-quality instruction."

Though research in the past has shown that low income public schools in cities tend to have lower quality teachers than wealthier suburban areas, this particular study raises more specific questions about teacher retention in schools. Are teachers leaving because of their socialized attitudes about black students in classrooms? Are they leaving because schools with lacking funds and overpopulated classrooms offer less career and salary opportunities for high quality teachers? Are training programs adequately preparing teachers for educating across race, class and gender lines? And how is our system of education supposed to be fixed if teachers and students of color are both being hurt by poor funding? It's a sea of questions, but they all need to be investigated. What hope can we build for black students if we cannot promise them that they will have the same access to quality teachers as white students? The achievement gap shows no signs of being closed when teachers and students are both affected by systemic inequality in the education system.

Two limitations struck me while reviewing the report. First, it would have been helpful to evaluate the relationship between race and class in the study. Socioeconomic factors shape funding and teacher quality, and need to be considered in order to create helpful policy and better education overall. Second, the study may not necessarily be applicable on a national level. More studies need to be conducted in metropolitan areas all over the country, in order to have a better idea of the relationship between students and teachers.

Nina Jacinto is a freelance blogger living in the Bay Area whose writing focuses on issues of race, gender, and media representation. She's a graduate of Pomona College and loves South Asian diaspora narratives, bargain shopping, and the Internet.