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What is the problem?
Students need effective teaching in order to
achieve. Research suggests that recruiting and retaining qualified,
talented teachers is an important way to close the achievement gap.
In practice, however, there is an inequitable
distribution of effective teachers. The schools with the biggest
achievement gap (low-performing schools) tend to attract
insufficient numbers of quality teachers. Schools serving
predominantly low-income and minority students are much more likely
to be staffed by inexperienced, unlicensed teachers who hold no
advanced degrees and who lack content knowledge or a college major
in the subject they teach.
Race may play a larger role than income in
this disparity. In schools with more than 90% minority enrollment,
there is less than a 50% chance that students will have math or
science teachers with both a teaching license and a degree in the
subject they teach. Also, poor white children are more likely than
poor African-American children to be taught by a qualified teacher.
Effects: Good vs. bad teaching
The effects of both good and bad teaching are
powerful and cumulative. The difference between a good and bad
teacher can be as much as a full level of achievement in a single
school year.
An achievement gain study of the Tennessee
Value-Added Assessment System mathematics test found that students
taught by the least effective (bottom quintile of) teachers for
three consecutive years displayed average achievement gains of 29%.
In contrast, students taught by the most effective teachers gained
83%.
Similarly, an analysis by Harvard University’s Ron
Ferguson determined that every additional dollar spent on more
qualified teachers resulted in greater achievement gains than any
other educational expenditure.
How important are teacher qualifications?
Studies provide strong clues but no definitive
answer to the question of what makes a teacher effective.
Available evidence (sometimes disputed) suggests
that student achievement may be related to these measurable
teacher qualifications:
- Certification
- Licensure
- Experience
- Subject-matter knowledge
- Pedagogical preparation
Some studies even have found that student
achievement depends more on teacher qualifications than on a
student's socioeconomic background, or than the size of budgets or
classes at school. In particular, math and science teachers
who majored in those subjects tend to produce more highly performing
students (39%, according to one analysis).
One study showed that students taught by certified
teachers made 50% higher achievement gains in general mathematics,
and nearly five times higher gains in algebra. Similarly, an
analysis of Stanford 9 achievement scores in two large urban
districts found that, over one school year, certified teachers
produced the
equivalent of five months of higher achievement gains in reading, four
months in language, and 2.5 months in reading.
However, a study published by the Fordham Foundation
questioned the efficacy of strict adherence to a standard teaching
credential. It concluded that teachers with any kind of
certification (standard, alternative or emergency) outperformed
those with no certification, as well as those certified in a
different subject.
Other key teacher strengths
Other studies have found a direct relationship
between teachers' verbal and math abilities and student
achievement. Also, studies in Alabama and Texas showed a strong
positive relationship between teacher test scores and student
achievement gains.
Experience matters. On average, beginning
teachers are less effective than those with at least three to five
years of classroom experience. However, the value of additional
experience seems to disappear somewhere
after 5-10 years.
(Top of this page)
Closing the Achievement Gap
NGA Center for Best Practices
Hall of States, 444 N. Capitol St., Washington, D.C. 20001-1512
Telephone: (202) 624-5300 | webmaster: webmaster@nga.org
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