Ensuring equitable access to great teachers: State policy priorities

Abstract

Research reliably demonstrates that teachers are the most important in-school factor affecting students’ learning and lives. Yet on myriad measures of teacher quality, students from low-income families and students of color are less likely to have equitable access to excellent teachers. States set forth their plans to address any existing disparities in vulnerable students’ access to great teachers under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). However, after analyzing the specific provisions related to teacher equity in all 50 states and the District of Columbia’s ESSA plans, the National Council on Teacher Quality found significant opportunities for improvement, as well as limited promising practices.