Another change has to do with teacher quality, which Cheatham described as “the single most important in-school factor for improving student achievement.”
in the Madison public schools, teacher quality has long played second fiddle to teacher seniority and teacher credential-attainment in determining which teachers get raises, laid off, retained and sought-after transfers. And there’s little evidence that teacher seniority, after about five years on the job, and an advanced teaching degree are linked to higher student achievement.
Madison has long tolerated disastrous reading results, despite spending more than $17k per student annually.