Public School Policies

In addition to monetary donations, Bill Gates has consistently articulated his belief that improving the quality of teachers is one of the most effective ways to enhance student learning.

As The Bellingham Herald noted, researchers have long struggled to define and measure what makes a teacher truly effective. While most parents recognize the impact of a strong teacher, translating that impact into measurable data has proven difficult.

To address this challenge, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation committed billions of dollars to research aimed at identifying the key traits of successful educators. One major initiative, the Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) project, explored multiple evaluation methods, including classroom observations, student feedback, and academic growth metrics. A research overview of teacher effectiveness can be found at https://www.rand.org/education-employment-infrastructure/projects/measuring-teacher-effectiveness.html.

Ideas proposed and tested through these initiatives included:

• Recording and analyzing classroom instruction through video
• Using student surveys to evaluate teaching effectiveness
• Incorporating multiple measures beyond standardized test scores
• Providing targeted professional development based on feedback

These strategies have influenced how many districts approach teacher evaluation today, even as policies have evolved.

In 2026, the conversation has shifted slightly. While accountability remains important, there is increased emphasis on supporting teachers rather than strictly evaluating them. Districts are investing more in coaching, mentorship programs, and ongoing professional learning, recognizing that teacher retention is now as critical as teacher performance. For national data and trends, visit https://nces.ed.gov.

Evolving Strategies in a Changing Education Landscape

Education reform efforts backed by the

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act mandated that all public schools evaluate their teachers based upon stricter qualifications. However, not all schools have revamped their employee rosters and hiring checklists, leading parents to wonder, "are my child's teachers still qualified?"

According to the US Department of Education in 2005, all public school teachers must be considered "Highly Qualified" in order to teach. To be labeled as a "highly qualified teacher," instructors must hold a bachelor's degree, full state certification, and proof of subject-area competency.

While the standards of a "highly qualified teacher" are generally reasonable, many schools in the United States expressed challenges in achieving these goals. Specifically, schools in rural areas found it nearly impossible to hire new, "more qualified" teachers than the limited number currently employed. As a result, the mandates of NCLB were revised to allow for more flexibility.

To find out if your local public school teachers meet all of the NCLB qualifications, consider the following standards outlined by the legislation.

NCLB "Highly Qualified" Requirements

The requirements for achieving the "highly qualified" teaching status depends upon one's subject area and additional state-based guidelines. Generally, all elementary teachers are required to meet the following criteria:

• More than 180 days of teaching experience
• Pass state-mandated subject tests
• Certified for all elementary education (as opposed to specific subject areas)

Middle school and high school teachers are required to meet the following criteria:

• More than 180 days of teaching experience
• Passing score on state subject-area tests

While schools should instill moral fortitude into their students, some educational institutions are "cheating" their systems. According to recent investigations, several public schools have been caught tampering with their schools' test score reports, graduation rates, and other performance-related statistics.

What Could Information be Falsified?

Under the No Child Left Behind Act, public school leaders are under incredible pressure to ensure their scores stay high while their graduation rates continue to soar. Public schools must publish data on campus violence, academic performance, and graduation rates. Adding to these focus areas, schools must publicly publish an annual "report card" of the school, allowing community members to ascertain how specific groups have performed throughout the year. The specific groups assessed in this report card are differentiated by:

• Ethnicity
• Disability
• Income (plus other potential related socio-economic factors)
• English language proficiency

In addition, all public schools must disclose their annual dropout rates, teacher qualification standards, and records, as well as other locally-mandated data.

This video is an example of test score manipulation in our schools.

The Pressure to Tamper With Public School Reports

While increased access to school records undoubtedly benefits the community, the transparency mandated by NCLB prompts some school leaders to falsify educational data.

Reason Magazine reveals, "While federal and state legislators congratulate themselves for their newfound focus on school accountability, scant attention is paid to the quality of the data they're using. Whether the topic is violence,

While school campuses are home to fights and violence between students, new research has found that dangers exist off-campus as well. A rising number of investigations and reports are beginning to question the safety of public school buses. Considering that 47 percent of public school students use the bus to travel to and from school, many parents are expressing concern about the safety of their local school's bus system.

Are Public School Buses Safe?

In exploring the specific dangers faced by children utilizing the school bus system, the American Public Health Association (APHA) has found increases in violence on school buses, including verbal, physical, emotional, and sexual violence between students. While there are no major data reports on the total incidences of bus violence occurrences, BJC School Outreach conducted a private survey to question students of all ages about their fears and concerns of violence. According to the surveys, school buses are the second most likely location wherein a student may encounter bullying and/or harassment.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration states: "The school bus is the safest vehicle on the road—your child is much safer taking a bus to and from school than traveling by car. Although four to six school-age children die each year on school transportation vehicles, that’s less than one percent of all traffic fatalities nationwide. NHTSA believes school buses should be as safe as possible. That’s why our safety standards for school buses are above and beyond those

How well do politics and education mix? From New York to California, residents across the country are concerned that their public schools are being taken over by local mayors. Most controversially, New York City's Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has been confronted by loud opponents, with protesters arguing that Bloomberg is overstepping his boundaries in making major changes in the city's local schools. However, Bloomberg is not the only mayor under the spotlight.

This video looks at the issue of control in our schools.

The Recent Battle: Do Mayors Have Too Much Control?

As the New York Times reveals, there has been an "increasingly acrimonious battle over mayoral control of New York City's public schools." According to reports, Bloomberg took control from the "fractious Board of Eduction" in 2002 to make needed changes to help improve the public schools' test scores and graduation rates. While Bloomberg's intentions seem to have been noble, opponents argue that one mayor alone cannot have such authority and control over 1,500 schools and 1.1 million students. Although the mayoral oversight plan officially expired on June 30^th, Bloomberg still retains the ultimate control over the schools.

As a result, 10 democratic senators held a news conference in July, demanding that Bloomberg make concessions before attempting to enforce any additional educational reforms. The conference became increasingly tense as some of the senators labeled Bloomberg as a "dictator," stating