Eric.ed.gov – WWC Review of the Report “The Effectiveness of Secondary Math Teachers from Teach for America and the Teaching Fellows Programs.” What Works Clearinghouse Single Study Review

The 2013 study, “The Effectiveness of Secondary Math Teachers from Teach for America and the Teaching Fellows Programs,” examined whether students taught by teachers in the “Teach for America” (“TFA”) and “The New Teacher Project Teaching Fellows” (“Teaching Fellows”) programs had greater mathematics achievement than students taught by teachers who were not in either of these programs. The study was conducted in the 2009-10 and 2010-11 school years. Researchers found that “Teaching Fellows” teachers were no more effective at improving student mathematics achievement scores than comparison teachers. This study is well executed and meets What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) group design standards without reservations. A separate WWC single study review (see ED545118) provides information about the “TFA” intervention. Three appendices are included: (1) Study details; (2) Outcome measure for the mathematics achievement domain; and (3) Study findings for the mathematics achievement domain, “Teaching Fellows” study. A glossary of terms is included. [The following study is the focus of this “Single Study Review”: Clark, M. A., Chiang, H. S., Silva, T., McConnell, S., Sonnenfeld, K., Erbe, A., & Puma, M. (2013). “The effectiveness of secondary math teachers from Teach For America and the Teaching Fellows programs” (NCEE 2013-4015). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.]