Giving Compass' Take:

• In this Education Dive story, Amelia Harper discusses a recent report from the Learning Policy Institute which indicates that teacher qualifications are the best predictor for student success.

• The takeaway from this story is that we need more qualified teachers, especially in underserved schools. How can philanthropy help achieve this?

• To learn about how one hiring tool is connecting teachers with the

A [recent report from] the Learning Policy Institute, “California’s Positive Outliers: Districts Beating the Odds,” indicates students of color — and, indeed, all students — perform better when served by teachers with better qualifications. The study highlights the impact California's teacher shortage is having on student achievement as the Teacher Credentialing Commission authorized more than 12,000 "substandard" credentials in the 2017-18 school year, a number that represents roughly half of that year’s entering workforce.

The research for the report found the proportion of teachers holding substandard credentials is negatively associated with student achievement, and that these teachers are disproportionately assigned to schools in California with higher populations of students of color and low-income students. The research also found that level of teacher experience is positively associated with levels of student achievement, particularly for black and Latino students.

Anne Podolsky, an LPI researcher and policy analyst and the lead author on the report, recommends solving teacher shortages by making teacher education more affordable and offering incentives to attract teachers to high-needs fields and schools. Some of these approaches could include teacher residencies, better pathways to credentialing for classified staff, and forgivable loans for teacher education.

Read the full article about teacher qualifications by Amelia Harper at Education Dive.