They Like Me, They Really Like Me

An interesting new study found that parents value student satisfaction over teacher performance when selecting their child's teacher.

The study looked at which teachers parents in one Western U.S. school district requested and what qualities those teachers possessed according to their principals. Parents in the district are allowed to request certain teachers.

"When given the choice between a teacher with high satisfaction ratings and an average teacher, parents in wealthier schools were likely to choose the high-satisfaction teacher 65 percent of the time. They weren't, however, much more likely to choose a high-achieving teacher over an average one. Meanwhile, at poorer schools, the results were almost reversed. Parents at poorer schools weren't any more likely to choose the high-satisfaction teacher over an average one. They were, however, more likely to choose a high-achieving teacher than an average one - that is, if they made requests at all."

To read more about the study, read this.