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Eric.ed.gov – Certification Requirements and Teacher Quality: A Comparison of Alternative Routes to Teaching. Working Paper 64

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Traditionally, states have required individuals complete a program of study in a university-based teacher preparation program in order to be licensed to teach. In recent years, however, various “alternative certification” programs have been developed and the number of teachers obtaining teaching certificates through routes other than completing a traditional teacher preparation program has skyrocketed. In this paper I use a rich longitudinal data base from Florida to compare the characteristics of alternatively certified teachers with their traditionally prepared colleagues. I then analyze the relative effectiveness of teachers who enter the profession through different pathways by estimating “value-added” models of student achievement. In general, alternatively certified teachers have stronger pre-service qualifications than do traditionally prepared teachers, with the least restrictive alternative attracting the most qualified perspective teachers. These… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Do Disadvantaged Students Get Less Effective Teaching? Key Findings from Recent Institute of Education Sciences Studies. NCEE Evaluation Brief. NCEE 2014-4010

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Lack of researcher consensus on how to measure disadvantaged students’ access to effective teaching has made it challenging for practitioners to draw lessons from the data. This brief aims to help policymakers understand the emerging evidence by synthesizing findings from three peer-reviewed studies that collectively span 17 states. The studies provide two lessons: (1) on average, disadvantaged students received less effective teaching than other students, equivalent to about four weeks of learning for reading and two weeks for math, or about 2 to 4 percent of the student achievement gap between these groups; and (2) access to effective teaching for disadvantaged students varied across districts, with a statistically significant difference between more and less disadvantaged students’ access in some districts and no statistically significant difference in access… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – The Economic Value of Higher Teacher Quality. Working Paper 56

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Most analyses of teacher quality end without any assessment of the economic value of altered teacher quality. This paper combines information about teacher effectiveness with the economic impact of higher achievement. It begins with an overview of what is known about the relationship between teacher quality and student achievement, which provides the basis for consideration of the derived demand for teachers which comes from their impact on economic outcomes. Alternative valuation methods are based on the impact of increased achievement on individual earnings and on the impact of low teacher effectiveness on economic growth through aggregate achievement. A teacher one standard deviation above the mean effectiveness annually generates marginal gains of over $400,000 in present value of student future earnings with a class size of 20 and… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Transfer Incentives for High-Performing Teachers: Final Results from a Multisite Randomized Experiment. NCEE 2014-4003

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: One way to improve struggling schools’ access to effective teachers is to use selective transfer incentives. Such incentives offer bonuses for the highest-performing teachers to move into schools serving the most disadvantaged students. In this report, we provide evidence from a randomized experiment that tested whether such a policy intervention can improve student test scores and other outcomes in low-achieving schools. The intervention, known to participants as the Talent Transfer Initiative (TTI), was implemented in 10 school districts in seven states. The highest-performing teachers in each district–those who ranked in roughly the top 20 percent within their subject and grade span in terms of raising student achievement year after year (an approach known as value added)–were identified. These teachers were offered $20,000, paid in installments over a… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – California’s Approach to Math Instruction Doesn’t Add Up. CenterView.

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: California’s students are failing to make the grade in mathematics. A recent study released by the RAND Corporation found that California’s eighth grade students ranked 43rd on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) mathematics tests. A study conducted by the California State University system found that only 55% of high school juniors are prepared to enroll in college-level mathematics courses. In 2004, 82% of students scored below proficiency on the California Standardized Test in Algebra I (tested in grades 8-11). And in 2003-2004, more than a quarter of all students taking the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) failed to pass the mathematics section of the test. Sections in this CenterView include: Poor Performance on High Stakes Math Tests; The Teaching Crisis in Algebra; Bulging Enrollment… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Using Alternative Student Growth Measures for Evaluating Teacher Performance: What the Literature Says. REL 2013-002

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: States are increasingly interested in including measures of student achievement growth, or “value- added,” in evaluating teachers. Annual state assessments, however, which are the typical measure of student growth, usually cover only reading and math teachers and only in grades 4-8. These state assessments thus cannot generally be used to measure contributions to student achievement growth for early elementary school teachers, most high school teachers, and teachers of other subjects. As a consequence, a growing number of states and school districts are exploring alternatives for measuring teachers’ contributions to student learning. These alternatives have the potential to be used for evaluating not only teachers who work in grades and subjects outside the annual state testing regime but also as complementary growth measures for teachers of tested grades… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Vital Signs: Pennsylvania

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Business leaders in Pennsylvania cannot find the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) talent they need to stay competitive. Students’ lagging performance in K-12 is a critical reason why. The good news is that the nation’s most effective STEM Education programs can help turn the tide. Pennsylvania students have made some gains in math and science, but racial and ethnic achievement gaps are among the very largest in the nation, and low-income students are least likely to have access to science labs or teachers with the resources they need. Not enough students–least of all minorities–have the chance to learn challenging content to prepare them for college and careers. Link til kilde

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Eric.ed.gov – Vital Signs: Tennessee

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Business leaders in Tennessee cannot find the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) talent they need to stay competitive. Students’ lagging performance in K-12 is a critical reason why. The good news is that the nation’s most effective STEM education programs can help turn the tide. Students have made progress in math over the past decade, yet not enough students–least of all minorities–have the chance to learn challenging content to prepare them for college and careers. There is special cause for concern in science. Girls lag behind boys, not enough students conduct regular hands-on investigations and science teachers say they don’t have the resources they need. Link til kilde

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Eric.ed.gov – Vital Signs: New Jersey

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Business leaders in New Jersey cannot find the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) talent they need to stay competitive. Students’ lagging performance in K-12 is a critical reason why. The good news is that the nation’s most effective STEM education programs can help turn the tide. New Jersey students have made progress in math over the past decade. Yet not enough students–least of all minorities–have the chance to learn challenging content to prepare them for college and careers. Science teachers of low-income, black and Hispanic students are most likely to say they don’t have the resources they need, and their schools are most likely to lack facilities and materials for science instruction. Link til kilde

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Eric.ed.gov – Vital Signs: Idaho

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Business leaders in Idaho cannot find the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) talent they need to stay competitive. Students’ lagging performance in K-12 is a critical reason why. The good news is that the nation’s most effective STEM education programs can help turn the tide. Idaho students have made some progress in math over the past decade. Yet not enough students–least of all minorities–get the chance to learn challenging content that prepares them for college and careers. Science does not yet seem to be a priority in Idaho: elementary students spend little time on the subject, and most science teachers say they don’t have the resources they need. Link til kilde