Opinion
Opinion

Is it difficult to fire ineffective teachers in Gwinnett? Yes, says new study.

By Maureen Downey
Dec 11, 2016

The Thomas B. Fordham Institute examined how hard it is to fire ineffective teachers in 25 school systems around the country. Among them was Gwinnett County, which rated a 5 out of 10 in terms of difficulty.

A 9 or 10 rating signifies it's "easy to dismiss" a teacher deemed "ineffective." No district earned a 9 or 10. Under Fordham's rating, a 5 rating falls under "difficult to dismiss."

Below is the chart Fordham created to summarize Gwinnett's process.

You can read the full report -- " Undue Process:  Why Bad Teachers in Twenty-Five Diverse Districts Rarely Get Fired   -- here.

In its analysis, Fordham sought to answer these questions:

  1. Does tenure protect veteran teachers from performance-based dismissal?
  2. How long does it take to dismiss an ineffective veteran teacher?
  3. How vulnerable is an ineffective veteran teacher's dismissal to challenge?

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Credit: Maureen Downey

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Credit: Maureen Downey

About the Author

Maureen Downey has written editorials and opinion pieces about local, state and federal education policy since the 1990s.

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