Matt Barnum | The 74
Performance trumps seniority when it comes to deciding teacher layoffs — if the goal is to minimize negative effects on student learning.
A new study by Brown University professor Matthew Kraft finds that laying off teachers based on how long they have been in the classroom rather than how effective they are hurts student achievement in math. It’s the first evidence based on actual layoffs that the policy known as LIFO, or “last-in-first-out,” has harmful consequences for students.