I asked my readers if Melinda Gates was right when she said that an effective teacher would get three times the “gains” of an ineffective reader and if you knew the source of this statistic or claim. I had many thoughtful replies. Many people had heard the claim, which was made not only by Melinda Gates but Michelle Rhee. Some attributed it to Eric Hanushek, some to Education Trust, some to William Sanders.
Surely there can be no doubt that some teachers are more successful than others, at least with some children in some years. Can all teachers get the same gains every year? Not so clear.
Imagine if every child in every classroom in the U.S. had an effective teacher every year, as Melinda Gates said would one day be possible due to the work of the Gates Foundation. That would mean that every child would gain 18 months of instruction every year. By the end of eighth grade, every child would be ready to go to college, having gotten the test score gains equivalent to twelve years of schooling. College-readiness by 13 or 14! That would surely be a break-through for our society and would change the nature of college-going.
In the search for the provenance of Melinda Gates’ statement, Gary Rubinstein seems to have cracked the code with his research. Gary teaches math at Stuyvestant High School and has his own blog, as you will see if you open the link. Gary tracked the claim back to a paper by Eric Hanushek in 1992 (which was cited by some other readers as well). His analysis is worth reading. What Rubinstein discovers about this 20-year-old study will surprise you and make you wonder why so many people are citing it today as definitive proof of certain policy ideas. No one offered any evidence that the 1992 study (or whenever it was conducted) has been replicated, so we don’t need to worry about a sudden explosion of 14-year-olds prepared to enter college.
Diane
PS: A reader on Twitter suggests that she would be satisfied if 14-year-olds arrived with appropriate skills and knowledge for their grade:
,@DianeRavitch re: M Gates: how about we strive to have every 14 year old ready for real high school work?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
What we do have to worry about is the illusionists who use their skills to create the puff of smoke and clever misdirection to move the overall public sentiment, and use their access to wealth and politicians to move policy. Any teacher who has worked with REAL kids (the ones who don’t always come to school ready and/or willing to learn) know the truth about the gains you are sometimes grateful for and lucky to get: A great teacher can be a powerful positive influence for a student who might otherwise struggle. A more honest, fair and equitable economic approach would help many, many more attain the goals teachers are being held accountable for.
In Florida, legislators want students to get through K-12 and college must faster in order to have to pay out less tax dollars. They keep passing legislation to make that happen.
When I read your column on this yesterday I was reminded of when I first heard the effective teach mantra. It was from business men in the late 1990’s who were part of the Florida Chamber of Commerce’s “World Class Schools” initiative. They were also saying at the time that class size doesn’t matter. And look at what they have done with all of that mis-information….
But can’t people realize just how seriously limited (if not entirely crack-pot) the concept of “speed-up efficiency” is when applied so mindlessly to the learning process? We’ve all heard stories of precocious people who enter the University of Chicago at twelve and are Nobel Laureates at twenty (or something close to that!) but for the ordinary human being TIME (I thould think) is surely a crucial ingredient in what constitues the educational process. Nor can it be merely a matter of ever greater reading skills. One may not be able to measure the value of the maturing effect of time and experience, but I’m certain that whatever an idea like “college readiness at 13 or 14” means, it can’t possibly mean the same thing as “college readiness at (say) 18.” “Business models” that are fixated on such aims as “efficiency” and “productivity” mustn’t be applied in the educational sphere without serious and thoughtful challenge.
My hat’s off to Diane Ravitch and all you other sensible people.
Hi Diane,
Did you read the Gary Gutting piece in the Times “Who Should Teach Our Children?” I had no idea the majority of elementary school teachers are, according to some studies, “average”. Gutting believes we should only hire the “elite” who btw should also be given small class sizes, more support, and freedom from the dictates that hamper creativity in the classroom. Average teachers don’t deserve these same conditions. In fact, our class size should be increased according to people like Gates, Klein and Bloomberg.
He also claims new teachers outperform experienced ones based on the test scores. After all, test scores are so reliable. At it’s much easier to just teach to the test.
Does Gutting really believe going to an “Ivy League” college makes all graduates highly qualified? Didn’t GW graduate from Yale?
The truth of the claim (that one can that all we have to do is make sure every child has an “effective teacher” and they will be college ready by 8th grade or some early age) notwithstanding, one has to ask, “why, exactly, do we want 13-14 year olds to be college ready?” So they can start incurring bank loans early? Become part of the coming new labor force early enough? Start procreating and have “smarter” children earlier? Or, is there an altruistic intent, you know, that people in society can be educated enough to reflect on their existence earlier and challenge the very teneets of this “early learning” curve theory (for one example)? Or is this claim simply designed with the myopic intent to force through policy changes that turn education of children into teacher evaluation for “effectiveness”. Theories of learning may abound, but the propensity for promoting pedagogical flim-flam seems boundless.
I have been a Title I-Reading Recovery teacher for 30 years. This statement of Melinda Gates is as ridiculous as the NCLB legislation that threw us off track 10 years ago. Aren’t these claims even being check by statistician to see if they are even possible? Meanwhile children are being tortured by unreliable invalid tests-drop out rates rising.
Education is at a crisis.
[…] three consecutive years of highly effective teachers.” Readers of this blog recognize this as the same claim made by Melinda […]
I have yet to find anything Hanushek (and Hoxby) write to be credible. I’m usually justified in my thoughts when I visit NEPC’s Think Tank review.
Unfortunately these educational reform charlatans – all of whom are suddenly experts on a job they’ve never done – follow the Faux News mantra of repeating the untruths until they become “truth”.