How many researchers does it take to screw in the ed reform light bulb? Quite a few, it seems.

A new study of Philadelphia high schools finds that their high school freshmen are more likely to be taught by inexperienced, uncredentialed teachers than their upper-grade peers. And students taking at least two classes taught by these teachers miss an average of two more school days a year than peers with more-qualified teachers. Read this Ed Week article for more.

Sounds eerily familiar to this exchange Maureen blogged about last week between Amy Wilkins from Ed Trust and blogger, Dan Brown.

And in this chart from OSPI, you can see that the largest drop off of our very own Washington students is after their freshman year of high school.

So tell me, how much more evidence do we really need to change this trend? High-quality teachers, especially in struggling schools and during the early years of high school, are key.