Substitute Teachers, Impact on Learning

Does having substitute teachers in the classroom affect learning? Are students losing out on their education because of teacher absences? If you ask those in education many will agree that having too many substitutes in the classroom could affect learning. Spokesperson for the EVSC, Marsha Jackson says its especially true if teachers have high absentee rates. But if you ask if that stretches to students and standardized test scores.... The answer gets more complicated. USI Professor Robert Boostrom says measuring such a thing would be hard to do. He says though long-term substituting can present possible problems. This is particularly in areas of secondary science and math where schools arent likely to find substitutes ready to teach that class. The numbers in the tri-state shows that substitutes are used a lot. And according to the Substitute Teaching Institute by the time students reach their senior year substitutes will have taught them one full year. Among the problems the say are that 86 percent of school districts cant find quality substitute teachers. While 90 percent of districts dont spend enough time on training. The EVSC is trying to address that issue beginning with their pay. They say the hope to get more qualified substitutes by raising their pay rates. Professor Boostrom says issue of education and its relationship to substitutes is a difficult one and also extends to the quality of schools. It is because of that that it remains difficult to say whether it will get any better or worse soon.