Presentation Intro

Presentation Intro

From Highly Qualified to Highly

Effective: Research on the Impact of

Educators on Student Learning

Sabrina W.M. Laine, Ph.D.

Learning Point Associates

Measuring What Matters- Paying for Teacher Quality Forum

September 14, 2009

The Impact of Teachers

• Teachers drive student performance

▪Teachers are the greatest school-based influence on student achievement (Nye, Konstantopolous, & Hedges, 2004).

• “Americans identified two issues as most important in moving schools in the right direction: better teachers and more parental support.” (Bushaw & McNee, 2009)

Current Policy

• Federal policy on teacher quality currently focuses on teacher “inputs”

• As established by the 2001 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), a “highly qualified teacher” has the following:

▪A college degree

▪Content-area undergraduate major

▪State teaching certification

Measuring Input is not Enough

• Inputs (certification status, degree, subject area major) do not greatly impact student achievement (Rice, 2003; Roza & Miller, 2009)

• Recent research is shifting from teacher quality to teaching quality

▪As a concept, teacher effectiveness measures teaching quality through contributions to student growth and learning

Framework for Thinking Beyond

Teacher Quality

Teacher Performance

Teachers

Students Content

Teacher Qualifications- HQT Status- Degrees- State Certification- Experience

Expertise- Pedagogical knowledge- Content knowledge- Content knowledge for teaching

Capacity- Verbal intelligence- Willingness to learn- Preparedness

Character/Dispositions- Sensitivity- Warmth- Commitment- Passion

Are enacted in and

shaped by

Student Outcomes/ TeacherWhich

influences Effectiveness

Quality versus Effectiveness

• Indicators of Quality

▪ HQT Status

▪ Teacher Expertise

▪ Teacher Capacity

▪ Teacher Character

▪ Teacher Performance

• Indicators of Effectiveness

▪ Demonstrated contributions to

student learning outcomes

(value-added scores, student

work samples)

▪ Demonstrated contributions to

other desired student outcomes

(social-emotional outcomes,

student engagement,

attendance/graduation rates,

student/parent/alumni surveys)

Five Point Definition

National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality:

http://www.tqsource.org/publications/practicalGuide.pd

f

1. Have high expectations for all students and help

students learn, as measured by value-added or other

test-based growth measures, or by alternative

measures

2. Contribute to positive academic, attitudinal, and social

outcomes for students such as regular attendance, on-

time promotion to the next grade, on-time graduation,

self-efficacy, and cooperative behavior

Five Point Definition, cont.

3. Use diverse resources to plan and structure engaging

learning opportunities; monitor student progress

formatively, adapting instruction as needed; and

evaluate learning using multiple sources of evidence

4. Contribute to the development of classrooms and

schools that value diversity and civic mindedness

5. Collaborate with other teachers, administrators,

parents, and education professional to ensure student

success, particularly the success of students with

special needs and those at high risk for failure

How to Measure Effectiveness

• What are the instruments? What are the variables? What are the outcome measures?

• Examples of Current Practice▪Review of Teacher Lesson plans

▪Classroom observations

▪Self-assessments

▪Portfolio assessments

▪Student achievement data

▪Student work sample reviews

What the Research Says about

Value-Added

• Advantages (Goe & Croft, 2009)

▪ Relatively inexpensive, after

initial infrastructure costs

▪ Focuses solely and directly on

student learning

▪ Relatively objective

▪ Comparable across schools,

districts, and states (provided

they use the same statistical

methods and achievement tests)

• Disadvantages (Goe & Croft,

2009)

▪ Can be costly to build data system

from scratch

▪ No information about what effective

teachers do in the classroom

▪ No information to help teachers

improve

▪ No information for some teachers

(e.g. special education, art, music,

early elementary)

How to Measure Effectiveness

12

Teacher EffectivenessEmpirically defined using value-added measures; teachers are ranked by how

much students gained compared to how much they were predicted to

gain in achievement.

Teacher QualificationsEducation, certification, credentials, teacher test scores, and experience

Teacher Practices(Teaching Quality)

Practices both in and out of the classroom (impacted by school and

classroom context): planning, instructional delivery, classroom

management, interactions with students Teacher CharacteristicsAttitudes, attributes, beliefs, self-efficacy, race, gender

Student Achievement (predicted) – Student Achievement (actual) =

Student Gain Score

Teacher Quality

Student Achievement Test Scores(treated as indicator of teacher quality)

Outcomes

Processes

Inputs

Source: Goe, Bell, & Little; 2008

Where is the Field on this Issue?

• Administrators are the most common evaluators according to study of 140 districts

• On average, non-tenured teachers evaluated twice a year and tenured teachers once every three to five years (Brandt, et al., 2007)

• More than 6 in 10 teachers prefer a principal who visits frequently and provides detailed feedback as opposed to yearly formal observations (Public Agenda/LPA 2009)

Where is the Field, cont.

• 66% of teachers who give their principals fair/poor ratings consider lack of administrative support a major drawback of teaching

• 87% of the same group believe principals would use performance pay to play favorites and reward teachers who are loyal

• More than 7 in 10 teachers would choose a school with better administrative support over a school with a higher salary (Public Agenda/LPA 2009)

A Systemic Approach that

Includes Compensation Reform

Preparation

Recruitment

Induction

WorkingConditions

ProfessionalDevelopment

Compensation and Incentives

PerformanceManagement

Hiring

Example of a Systemic

ApproachRecruitment Hiring Induction

and

Mentoring

Professional

Development

Working

Conditions

Compensation

and Incentives

Performance

Management

16

• Ensure that workloads are reasonable.

• Offer long-term salary policies that are market-sensitive, competitive, and performance-based.

• Implement early hiring timelines.

• Provide differentiated, ongoing, job-embedded professional development.

Focus on What Matters

• America’s central educational challenge is to dramatically improve student performance.

▪Teachers drive student performance

• We need a systemic approach to ensure the most effective teacher in every classroom and most effective leader in every school.

References

• Brandt, C., Mathers, C., Oliva, M., Brown-Sims, M., & Hess, J. (2007). Examining district guidance

to schools on teacher evaluation policies in the Midwest region (Issues & Answers Report, REL

2007-No.030). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences,

National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, REL Midwest. Retrieved

September 8, 2009 from http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/regions/midwest/pdf/REL_2007030.pdf

• William J. Bushaw and John A. McNee. (September 2009). The 41st Annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup

Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools Americans Speak Out: Are Educators and

Policy Makers Listening? Phi Delta Kappan, 91(1), 8-23.

• Goe, L., Bell, C., & Little, O. (2008). Approaches to evaluating teacher effectiveness: A research

synthesis. Washington, DC: National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality. Retrieved January

30, 2009, from http://www.tqsource.org/publications/EvaluatingTeachEffectiveness.pdf

References

• Goe, L. & Croft, A. (2009). Methods of evaluating teacher effectiveness. Washington, DC:

National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality. Retrieved September 8, 2009 from

http://tqcenter.learningpt.org/publications/RestoPractice_EvaluatingTeacherEffectiveness.p

df.

• Little, O., Goe, L., & Bell, C. (2009). A practical guide to evaluating teacher effectiveness.

Washington, DC: National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality. Retrieved September

8, 2009 from http://www.tqsource.org/publications/practicalGuide.pdf.

• No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, Pub. L. No. 107-110, § 115, Stat. 1425 (2002).

• Nye, B., Konstantopolous, S., & Hedges, L. V. (2004). How large are teacher effects?

Educational Evaluation & Policy Analysis, 26(3), 237–257. Retrieved September 8, 2009,

from http://www.sesp.northwestern.edu/docs/publications/169468047044fcbd1360b55.pdf

References

• Public Agenda & Learning Point Associates (2009 forthcoming). Teaching for a living:

How teachers see the profession today. Presentation prepared for the Retaining

Teaching Talent Project Advisory Group meeting, Gates Foundation: Washington, DC.

• Rice, J. K. (2003). Teacher quality: Understanding the effectiveness of teacher

attributes. Washington, DC: Economic Policy Institute.

• Roza, M. & Miller, R. (2009). Separation of degrees: State-by-state analysis of teacher

compensation for master’s degrees. Seattle, WA: Center on Reinventing Public

Education. Retrieved September 8, 2009 from

http://www.crpe.org/cs/crpe/download/csr_files/rr_crpe_masters_jul09.pdf.

Contact Information

Sabrina W.M. Laine, Ph.D.

P: 630-649-6686 > F: 630-649-6700

E-Mail: [email protected]