The cost-effectiveness of raising teacher quality

Econometric studies suggest that student achievement may be improved if high-performing teachers are substituted for low-performing teachers. Drawing upon a recent study linking teacher performance on licensure exams with gains in student achievement, an analysis was conducted to determine the cost-effectiveness of requiring teacher applicants to meet a minimum 1000 SAT test score requirement, while raising teacher salaries by 45 percent in order to maintain an adequate pool of candidates. Results indicate that the cost-effectiveness of this approach to raising teacher quality is substantially lower than the cost-effectiveness of a competing approach for raising student achievement, involving the implementation of systems that provide formative assessment feedback to students and teachers regarding student performance in math and reading. The implementation of formative assessment instead of less cost-effective approaches would help to achieve the important goal of raising math and reading achievement while using fewer resources. The savings in resources may then be used to achieve other important educational goals—those that are not well-addressed through formative assessment.     

The effectiveness and distribution of male primary teachers: Evidence from two Mexican states

Although the results of quantitative studies often indicate that students of male teachers perform worse on achievement tests than those of female teachers, it is not clear that men are less effective teachers. Instead, male teachers may work in more difficult environments. This study uses longitudinal data from Mexico's national teacher incentive program to examine the effectiveness and distribution of male teachers in two Mexican states. While we find some evidence that the students of male teachers score lower than those of female teachers, we also find that male teachers are disproportionately concentrated in lower-achieving and rural schools, and in higher-poverty municipalities.     

Within the teacher evaluation policies black box: two case studies

This paper analyzes the relationship between teacher evaluation policies in Chile and Uruguay, teacher professional development, and teacher performance effectiveness. The analysis tries to understand the extent to which the existing processes for teacher evaluation stimulate an improvement in the quality of teaching. The comparison of two national cases with similar educational results but radically different educational policies allows the authors to take a close look within the ‘black box’ of educational policy-making. The paper is based on in-depth analysis of the PISA survey to heads of schools and in-depth interviews with teachers, heads, and key informants. The paper finds that policies aiming to strengthen teacher development and teacher performance through teacher evaluation cannot be understood in dichotomist ways; lack of attention to teachers’ perspectives and unintended effects of policy implementation can lead to marginal effects. Uruguay, where teacher evaluation policies have weak practical effects, has managed to obtain similar educational results to Chile. However, the experience of Chile shows that teacher evaluation can have an effect on teacher professional development and, in the long run, this may have an effect on the quality of teaching and student results.     

What makes special-education teachers special? Teacher training and achievement of students with disabilities

Using statewide data from Florida, we analyze the impact of both pre-service and in-service training on the ability of teachers to promote academic achievement among students with disabilities. We find students with disabilities whose teacher is certified in special education have greater achievement in both math and reading than similar students whose teacher is not special-education certified. However, students without disabilities experience slightly lower achievement when taught by a special-education certified teacher. In-service professional development has no effect on the value-added of teachers in special education courses, but non-disabled students whose regular education teachers received special education training exhibit modestly higher achievement. Similarly, the gain in effectiveness associated with teacher experience is greater for teachers of regular education courses than for teachers of special education courses. Teachers with advanced degrees are more effective in boosting the math achievement of students with disabilities than are those with only a baccalaureate degree.     

Reflection and professional identity in teachers’ future-oriented discourse

Educational researchers have recently suggested that Schön's influential model of the ‘reflective practitioner’ lacks a prospective, or future, dimension. In this study, we examine instances of future-oriented talk produced by novice English as-a-second-language (ESL) teachers during mentoring meetings in one North American university setting. Context-specific functions of future-oriented discourse (e.g., planning, prediction) are investigated in relation to reflective thinking and teacher identity. We illustrate how teacher mentoring meetings represent discursive spaces in which novice teachers have an opportunity to verbalize plans, predict outcomes, consider possibilities, and reflect on their evolving pedagogical practices. We argue that teacher mentors should become aware of these important functions, and encourage prospective reflection in novice teachers.     

Social capital and student learning: Empirical results from Latin American primary schools

This paper presents an empirical analysis of the relationship between social capital and student math and language achievement and the probability of promotion, using data gathered from fourth grade classrooms in public schools in four Latin American cities. The results suggest that social capital among teachers in a school, between teacher and students, and among the students in a classroom contribute significantly to learning achievement and the probability of promotion. Furthermore, social capital between the students matters at least as much as the teacher's social capital. Children learn from each other and the networks allowing that to happen can be very important. The current pressure on teachers to achieve results on reading and math scores has tended to push teachers to “teach to the test”. Ironically, this study's results indicate that spending time in creating social capital within the classroom environment is associated with higher language and math test scores.     

Teacher Perceptions of Learning Motivation and Classroom Behavior: The Role of Student Characteristics

The present study investigates whether teacher perceptions of students’ cognitive skills, their learning motivation, and their classroom behavior differ according to students’ socioeconomic status, immigrant background, and gender. Data from N = 4746 German fourth graders and data from their parents and teachers were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Controlling for student achievement as measured in a standardized achievement test and student motivation as measured by student and parent reports, we found that teachers overestimated the cognitive skills of high-SES students and girls in comparison to those of low-SES students and boys. Similarly, teachers perceived high-SES students, students who are not from an immigrant background, and girls as having a higher learning motivation and as having more cognitive skills. Finally, we found that teachers’ perceptions of students’ learning motivation and classroom behavior mediated the relationship between student characteristics and cognitive skills as perceived by the teacher.     

Meeting the highly qualified teachers challenge

The moulding of the future of a nation depends on the teachers and the education they provide in schools. Research evidence from the US. National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) confirms this to be the case. Quantitative analysis of data indicates that measures associated with pre-service teacher preparation are by far the strongest correlates of student achievement (Darling-Hammond 2000). The research report of Wilson, Floden, and Ferrini-Mundy (2001) also suggests a strong relationship between teacher preparation and teacher effectiveness. Other research studies similarly indicate that differences in teacher quality are the most crucial for student achievement when compared with variables such as class size, streaming, or the amount of homework (Anderson & Helms 2001; Mendro 1998; Powell & Anderson 2002; Rivkin, Hanushek & Kain 2001; Saunders & Horn 1994; Strong & Tucker 2000) as possible contributory factors. In the pursuit of improved student achievement, we therefore need to examine seriously the role of teacher variables, ranging from teacher qualifications and their subject matter knowledge, to what motivates them to take up teaching as a career and as a consequence, how they teach in classrooms.     

Teacher credentials and student achievement: Longitudinal analysis with student fixed effects

We use a rich administrative dataset from North Carolina to explore questions related to the relationship between teacher characteristics and credentials on the one hand and student achievement on the other. Though the basic questions underlying this research are not new—and, indeed, have been explored in many papers over the years within the rubric of the “education production function”—the availability of data on all teachers and students in North Carolina over a 10-year period allows us to explore them in more detail than has been possible in previous studies. We conclude that a teacher's experience, test scores and regular licensure all have positive effects on student achievement, with larger effects for math than for reading. Taken together the various teacher credentials exhibit quite large effects on math achievement, whether compared to the effects of changes in class size or to the socio-economic characteristics of students.     

The cinematic pedagogies of underprepared teachers

Based on ‘netnographic’ discourse analysis of 14 blogs penned by unlicensed American volunteer teachers in Namibia, this paper compares the narratives of Western underprepared teachers to the maverick teacher archetype in popular Hollywood (white savior) teacher films. The volunteers’ narrations of their classroom activities and positionality within schools map onto the attributes of maverick teachers. I introduce the term cinematic pedagogies to conceptualize the dramatic but unresearched features of underprepared teachers’ classroom practices and their self-identity as narrated along familiar cinematic story arcs. This research contributes to emerging scholarship on underprepared teachers as educational actors worthy of analysis.     

A review on the accuracy of teacher judgments

In everyday school life, teachers need a wide range of judgment competencies to accurately assess student characteristics, learning and task requirements. The purpose of this literature review is to synthesize the methodological, empirical, theoretical, and practical knowledge from 40 years of research on the accuracy of teacher judgments. We define the accuracy of teacher judgments and differentiate the term from other related constructs. We explain the methodological approaches and summarize the main research findings on the accuracy of teacher judgments of student characteristics and task difficulties. Furthermore, we empirically demonstrate that teachers tend to overestimate student achievement on standardized tests. We discuss possible moderators of teachers’ judgment accuracy and show the effects on teaching and the learning of students. We present the main theoretical approaches that can explain the empirical findings and describe ways to improve teacher judgment accuracy. In the discussion, we address important implications for research and practice.     

Contextualising practice: Hallmarks of effective teachers of writing

This study identifies practices of effective teachers of writing. Three schools with significantly higher achievement in an area that underperforms nationally were identified and within them teachers whose students exhibited superior progress were selected. Multiple data collection methods included lesson observation, analysis of the classroom environment, teacher and student interviews and teacher documentation. Common was a commitment to formative assessment practices and classroom environments supportive of student literacy learning. Hallmarks of teachers whose students showed a greater awareness of their learning were a sense of purpose and meaningfulness; of coherence or connectedness and of being consistent and systematic. This paper argues that student achievement in writing is likely to be higher when teachers exhibit strength s in these hallmarks.     

Teacher competencies as a basis for teacher education – Views of Serbian teachers and teacher educators

Around the world reforms in teacher education have been oriented towards making the preparation of teachers more functional for development of competencies they need in practice. At the same time, much criticism has been voiced about such reforms jeopardising the fundamental humanist traditions in teaching, based on beliefs about non-instrumental values of education. In this study we examine teachers' perceptions of importance of competencies and explore their implications for teacher education. The study has been designed to ensure that voices of teachers and teacher educators are heard in identification of areas of expertise that make up a competent teacher. We conducted a principal component analysis of the response of 370 teachers and teacher educators in Serbia to a questionnaire about the importance of a number of aspects of teacher competence. We identified four components underling teachers' perceptions of competencies relating to 1) values and child-rearing; 2) understanding of the education system and contribution to its development; 3) subject knowledge, pedagogy and curriculum; and 4) self-evaluation and professional development. Teachers perceived all but the second area of competence as very important, with the fourth scale perceived as of the highest importance. Implications of each area of competence for teacher education are discussed and conclusions are drawn for the development of teacher education curricula.     

Teacher education programmes delivered at a distance: An examination of distance student perceptions

Recent technological developments have greatly influenced the ways American universities deliver educational course offerings to students at a distance. The perception of pre-service teachers in distance education programmes is germane to the planning and delivery of distance education courses in teacher education departments in the future. The results of this American study revealed a differing perception between male and female students in the area of course structure, student/teacher interaction, overall course satisfaction and peer interaction. As a result of this study, recommendations are provided for teacher preparation programmes to improve distance education course offerings for prospective teachers in the USA and implications for educators involved in teacher preparation internationally.     

Skills,productivity and the evaluation of teacher performance

We examine the relationships between observational ratings of teacher performance, principals’ evaluations of teachers’ cognitive and non-cognitive skills and test-score based measures of teachers’ productivity. We find that principals can distinguish between high and low performing teachers, but the overall correlation between principal ratings of teachers and teachers’ value-added contribution to student achievement is modest. The variation across metrics occurs in part because they are capturing different traits. While past teacher value-added predicts future value-added, principals’ subjective ratings can provide additional information, particularly when prior value-added measures are based on a single year of teacher performance.     

Factors affecting writing achievement: mapping teacher beliefs

The intersection of teacher beliefs with writing achievement in schooling is a key concern of this paper. The paper reports part of a two‐year Australian study that set out to examine in detail how it is that teachers judge Year 5 students' literacy achievement using writing as the case instance. In what follows, we examine the data in the form of concept maps that the teachers them selves made available showing their beliefs about, and insights into the factors that affect student writing achievement. Drawing on these maps, we highlight the range of teacher‐identified factors, including those relating to in‐class behaviour, motivation, attitudes to school learning, social and cultural backgrounds, oracy and even life circumstances. Additionally, we address how the identified factors function, operating either as standalone elements or within a dynamic network of inter‐relationships.     

Teacher behavior under performance pay incentives

Over the last decade many districts implemented performance pay incentives to reward teachers for improving student achievement. Economic theory suggests that these programs could alter teacher work effort, cooperation, and retention. Because teachers can choose to work in a performance pay district that has characteristics correlated with teacher behavior, I use the distance between a teacher's undergraduate institution and the nearest performance pay district as an instrumental variable. Using data from the 2003 and 2007 waves of the Schools and Staffing Survey, I find that teachers respond to performance pay incentives by working fewer hours per week. Performance pay also decreases participation in unpaid cooperative school activities, while there is suggestive evidence that teacher turnover decreases. The treatment effects are heterogeneous; male teachers respond more positively than female teachers. In Florida, which restricts state performance pay funding to individual teachers, I find that work effort and teacher turnover increase.     

Preparing preservice teachers to make instructional decisions: An examination of data from the teacher work sample

The purpose of this American study was to examine student teachers’ ability to make instructional decisions as they engaged in teaching. We examined the narrative accounts provided by 150 student teachers within their teacher work samples (TWSs). Results indicated that most student teachers were able to implement some aspects of instructional decision making, such as noting a specific difficulty with student learning and making an on-the-spot adjustment in their instruction. However, other elements of instructional decision making were less likely to be implemented. For example, student teachers relied on a limited range of formative assessment strategies and instructional modifications, and very few provided a sound rationale for their choice of modification. These results suggest that novice teachers may benefit from more opportunities to reflect and critique upon authentic learning experiences as they complete their teacher preparation programs. Finally, the TWS appears to represent a viable method for examining the instructional decisions of student teachers.     

Accountability and control in American schools*

Abstract

One of the most controversial and significant of contemporary education reforms has been the teacher accountability movement. From this perspective, low-quality teachers and teaching are a major factor behind inadequate school performance, and a lack of accountability and control in schools is a major factor behind the problem of low-quality teachers and teaching. In turn, to advocates of this reform movement, the solution is to centralize control of schools and hold teachers more accountable. Utilizing a sociology of organizations, occupations and work perspective, the objective of this article was to offer a critique of the teacher accountability perspective and movement. This article draws from, and summarizes, the results of a series of empirical research projects on the levels, distribution and effects of accountability and control in American schools. The argument of the article is that the teacher accountability perspective overlooks some of the most important sources and forms of organizational accountability and control that exist in schools and overlooks the ways schools themselves, and in particular the ways they are managed and organized, contribute to the teacher quality problem. As a result, teacher accountability reforms often do not succeed and can have a negative impact on teacher quality and school performance.     

‘That teacher really likes me’ - Student-teacher interactions that initiate teacher expectation effects by developing caring relationships

Teacher expectations are associated with student academic achievement, but no research has generated new theory that explains how teacher expectation effects occur from students' perspectives. A substantive theory explaining the process through which students reconcile with their teachers' expectations is presented in this paper, emphasising the role of caring student-teacher relationships in teacher expectation effects on academic achievement. The theory was constructed with 25 grade 10 participants across three Western Australian secondary schools, with data including 100 interviews and 175 classroom observations. The analysis and synthesis of the data confirmed that the students acted in ways that they reflected improved their academic attainment when their teachers communicated high expectations of them. Noddings' enduring philosophy of the ‘ethic of care’ is used as a discussion framework, emphasising implications for how teachers practise and learn to interact with their students so that they can initiate positive teacher expectation effects on student learning.