Transcript A “Best Fit” Approach to Improving Teacher Resources

A “Best Fit” Approach to
Improving Teacher Resources
Jennifer King Rice
University of Maryland
Five Questions
1.
2.
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4.
5.
Why focus so much attention on teacher
resources?
What does existing research say about teacher
resources?
What is the range of policy responses to
improve teacher resources?
How can policymakers make wise investments?
How can policymakers make effective decisions
that incorporate contextual considerations?
Q1: Why focus so much attention
on teacher resources?
Cost: Single largest investment in
public education amounting to $200
billion in 2002 alone
 Impact: Researchers, policy makers,
and the general public all agree that
teachers are the most important
school-based factor in realizing
student achievement.

Nonetheless, key questions exist
regarding teacher resources:
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What makes a “quality” teacher?
What should states think about as they
struggle to comply with No Child Left Behind
requirements regarding “highly qualified”
teachers?
What investments can/should states make
toward improving teacher resources?
How should teacher resources be distributed
across states, districts, and schools to
achieve equity and adequacy goals?
Q2: What does existing research say
about teacher resources?

Recent effort to distill the evidence on
teacher quality and qualifications
 Starting point –
• Are qualified teachers really quality teachers?
• Are hiring and compensation policies that reward
certain qualifications the equivalent of investing in
teacher quality?
• Does hiring and retaining qualified teachers lead to
improvements in student achievement?
FOR MORE INFO...
Rice, J.K. (2003) Teacher quality: Understanding the effectiveness of teacher
attributes. Washington, D.C. Economic Policy Institute.
Current conclusions from the
research:
“Inconclusive and inconsistent evidence”
“No systematic relationship between educational
inputs [teacher resources] and student
achievement”
Teacher
variable
Number of Positive and
estimates significant
Negative and
significant
Statistically
Insignificant
Education
program
171
9%
5%
86%
Experience
207
29%
5%
66%
Teacher
test score
41
37%
10%
54%
Criticisms of Hanushek’s
approach:
“vote counting” methodology that
doesn’t consider size of estimates or
design of studies
 “weighting” of the studies
 limited to production function
studies

Studies included in the review:
Empirical
 Relationship between teacher
qualities and their performance
 Peer reviewed (mostly journals)
 Past three decades
 Public education in the U.S.

Wide variety of studies included
in the review:
Multiple outcomes
 Range of methods
 Five teacher attributes

Teacher attributes included in the
study:
Teacher experience
 Teacher preparation program and
degree
 Teacher certification
 Coursework taken by teachers in
preparation for the profession
 Teachers’ own test scores

Findings: Teacher experience
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The evidence reveals a positive relationship
between student achievement and teacher
experience.
At the elementary level, this relationship is most
evident during the first several years of teaching.
Estimates of the effect of teacher experience on
high school student achievement suggest that
experience may have a more sustained effect,
continuing later into teachers’ careers.
Findings: Teacher preparation
program and degree
• The evidence is mixed regarding the degree to which
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•
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teacher education programs contribute to teachers’
knowledge.
Evidence suggests a modest positive effect of
institutional selectivity on student performance at the
elementary level, and a positive effect at the high school
level.
Studies of extended teacher education programs reveal
positive effects on entry into the profession and retention
rates, but no clear impact on teacher performance.
Studies of advanced degrees have found a positive effect
of subject-specific advanced degrees on student
achievement (only for h.s. math and science).
Findings: Teacher certification


Studies have demonstrated a positive effect of
certified teachers on high school mathematics
achievement when the certification is in
mathematics. This subject-specific teacher
certification effect is less obvious in other high
school subject areas, and is zero or even
negative in elementary level math and reading.
Studies of emergency or alternative route teacher
certification have shown little clear impact on
student performance in high school mathematics
and science, relative to teachers acquiring
certification through standard channels.
Findings: Teacher coursework

Coursework in both pedagogy and content areas
has a positive impact of student achievement.
- Pedagogical coursework matters at all grade levels
- Coursework in content areas is most apparent at
the secondary level.

Field experiences tend to be disconnected from
the other components of teacher education
programs. Despite this, studies suggest positive
effects in terms of opportunities to learn the
profession and reduced anxiety among new
teachers.
Findings: Teacher test scores

The research suggests that some test
scores seem to predict levels of teacher
performance and desired educational
outcomes.
- Tests that assess the impact of literacy levels or
verbal abilities of teachers tend to show positive
effects.
- In contrast, studies of the impact of the NTE and
other state-mandated tests of basic skills and/or
teaching abilities report mixed findings.
Findings with respect to minority
and disadvantaged students:
The positive effect of highly qualified
teachers appears to be more pronounced
for minority and disadvantaged students,
with respect to some teacher attributes:
• selectivity of the higher education
institution they attended
• degrees
• test scores
General findings
More refined measures of what
teachers know and can do
 Interactive nature of various teacher
qualities and qualifications
 Teaching context matters

Limitations and caveats
Teacher attributes vary across time
and place
 Findings are based on reported
statistical significance
 Significant gaps exist in our
knowledge base

Implications for policy
Teacher quality is important
 Many current teacher policies are
based on thin or no empirical
evidence
 Teacher policy should reflect a
balance between higher standards
and deregulation

Q3: What is the range of policy
responses to improve teacher
resources?
Economic incentives
 Changes to teacher preparation
programs
 Reform of teacher hiring process
 Initiatives designed to make schools
better places to work

Q4: How can policymakers make
wise investments?
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Need to weigh costs and effectiveness of
various alternatives.
Must work within budget shortfalls
Consider possibilities for resource
reallocation
Target interventions
Be aware of total policy context
– Complementary policies
– Competing policies
Q5: How can policymakers make effective
decisions that consider contextual factors?
Three step decision-making framework:
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Identify the problem using adequate data
about state and local teacher resources
Understand available policy alternatives and
how they complement or compete with each
other or policy contexts
Examine the cost-effectiveness of the
“package” of policies that might be
implemented