Students in Dire Need of Good Teachers Often Get the Least Qualified Or Less Experienced

By Debra Viadero

One way to shrink the academic gap might be to make sure that every minority student gets a good teacher.

A growing body of research suggests that those students who, arguably, most need the best teachers are getting just the opposite. By and large, the studies say, poor and minority students have a disproportionate share of poor-quality or unqualified teachers.

The disparities can be striking. In the New York City schools, for example, the percentage of teachers who have failed national teacher-certification exams is three times higher than it is elsewhere in the state. Similar patterns show up...