National Council on Teacher Quality Advancing Teacher Quality in New Jersey New Jersey State Board of Education July 13, 2011.

National Council on Teacher Quality

Advancing Teacher Advancing Teacher Quality Quality

in New Jerseyin New Jersey

• Non-partisan, non-profit research and advocacy group

• Committed to increasing the accountability and transparency of the institutions having the greatest impact on teacher quality:– States– Teacher preparation programs– Teacher unions– School districts

National Council on Teacher Quality

New Focus on Teacher Quality

• Teacher quality is the most important school-level variable in student achievement.

• Recognition that increasing teacher quality is key to raising student achievement.

• Specific emphasis on teacher effectiveness.

The Effect of Teacher Quality

(Sander and Rivers (1996): Cumulative and Residual Effects of Teachers on Future Student Achievement

State Teacher Policy Yearbook

• Annual review of each state’s teacher policies.

• 2009 edition is comprehensive report on all aspects of teacher policy.

• Average overall state grade: D

• Overall grade for New Jersey: D+

2009 Yearbook Grades

Average Grade

NJ Grade

Area 1 Delivering Well Prepared Teachers D D

Area 2 Expanding the Teaching Pool D+ B-

Area 3 Identifying Effective Teachers D- D+

Area 4 Retaining Effective Teachers D+ C-

Area 5 Exiting Ineffective Teachers D D+

2010 Yearbook Update

• Highlight state progress and offer blueprint for reform.

• Only policy update for NJ on licensure reciprocity for teachers from other states.

• 2011 Yearbook next comprehensive review; release in January 2012.

States are making progress, but much work remains…

Moving Toward Effectiveness

• Align all teacher policies to support effectiveness:– Teacher Preparation– Licensure/Certification– Mentoring/Professional Development– Evaluation– Tenure– Compensation– Dismissal

Do states require teacher evaluations to consider teacher effectiveness?

*including New Jersey

Do state data systems have the capacity to reliably assess teacher

effectiveness?

*

*

*including New Jersey

How many times do states require districts to evaluate a new teacher

during a school year?

NJ

Do states require districts to evaluate all veteran teachers each

year?

NJ

Is evidence of student learning the most important criterion in tenure decisions?

1 2

34

5 2 0 16

How long before a teacher earns tenure?

NJ

Do states require teachers to show evidence of effectiveness before conferring professional licensure?

NJ

Do states require renewal of professional licenses?

Noteworthy Changes 2009 to 2010

Policy Number of States-2009

Number of States-2010

Requires value-added data in teacher evaluation

3 12

Requires evidence of student learning to be the preponderant criterion in teacher evaluation

4 10

Requires annual evaluations of all nonprobationary teachers

15 21

Requires tenure decisions to be based on some evidence of teacher effectiveness

4 8

Requires evidence of teacher effectiveness to be a factor in license renewal

1 3

Other Findings

Exiting Ineffective Teachers• 38 states allow, and an additional 8 appear to allow

(including New Jersey) multiple appeals of teacher dismissals.

• Only 8 states specify that classroom ineffectiveness is grounds for dismissal, and only 4 of those distinguish due process for classroom ineffectiveness from criminality/ morality violations.

• 29 states permit teachers to remain in the classroom for two years or more without passing all required licensing tests.

Alternate Routes

• Only 5 states (including New Jersey) offer a genuine alternate route that provides an accelerated, responsible and flexible pathway into the profession.– 31 states (including New Jersey) require a subject-

area major without a test out option– Only 14 states (including New Jersey) limit

coursework– Only 20 states (including New Jersey) allow broad

usage across subjects, grades, geographic areas and providers

Elementary Teacher Preparation

• Only 25 states require teacher preparation programs to fully address the science of reading, and just 6 states have a rigorous test.

• Massachusetts is the only state that requires appropriate preparation in mathematics matched with a rigorous test.

Where do states set the passing score on elementary content licensure tests?

23 Data not available for Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon and Washington. Montana does not require a content test. Colorado cut score is for Praxis II, not PLACE.

Middle School Preparation

• 16 states allow teachers to teach grades 7 and 8 on a K-8 generalist license; another 5 states permit this under certain circumstances.

• 26 states require insufficient content preparation for middle school teachers.

Teacher Preparation Programs

• Only 15 states require a basic skills test as condition of admission.

• Only 21 states (including New Jersey) collect any meaningful objective data that reflect program effectiveness, and just 5 have set minimum standards of performance.

Special Education Teachers

• 39 states allow special education teachers to teach on a K-12 license that makes no distinction between the content and pedagogy preparation of elementary and secondary teachers.

• 22 states (including New Jersey) offer only a K-12 certification.

Questions or Feedback?

• Sandi Jacobs Vice PresidentNational Council on Teacher [email protected]

• NCTQ is available to work with individual states to improve teacher policies.