Brookings Mountain West presents Access to Quality Teaching: Myths, Facts, and Potential Policy Solutions for the Future, a talk by Michael Hansen, Ph.D., senior fellow, education policy, Brookings Institution, as part of the Fall 2016 Brookings Scholar Lecture Series.

Many believe the public schools serving the most affluent students have a monopoly on quality teaching, and schools in high-poverty areas perform poorly due to its lack. Yet a variety of research studies in recent years have challenged this myth. This research shows teacher quality varies much more within the same school than it does across schools, even looking across schools serving students from very different backgrounds. Access to quality teaching is not equal, though it is not nearly as formidable a challenge as previously believed. A variety of potential policy solutions will be presented to enhance the access of disadvantaged students to high-quality teaching.