Georgia is trying to improve its teaching force by improving the quality of candidates admitted to teacher prep programs and the quality of teachers already in the classroom. I discuss the efforts, which include a controversial new evaluation that considers student test scores. A guest columnist praises the inclusion of student performance in teacher reviews. And readers debate whether schools would improve if students were not tracked into classes by ability.

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Members of the conversion crew take a break as the main scoreboard is lowered to the floor to be worked on as the arena gets ready for the next concert at State Farm Arena, Thursday, October 2, 2025, in Atlanta. The crew was working on creating a stage for the Friday, Oct. 3 Maxwell concert. (Jason Getz/AJC)

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com