Investment in teacher quality pays off – Brief Article
The greatest predictor of student achievement is not student demographics, overall school spending, class size or teacher salaries. According to Stanford University’s Linda Darling-Hammond, teacher quality is the variable that most influences student achievement. And among the variables assessing teacher quality, the most powerful predictor of student achievement is the percentage of teachers with full certification and a major in the field.
“Substantial evidence from prior reform efforts indicates that changes in course taking, curriculum content, testing or textbooks make little difference if teachers do not know how to use these tools well and how to diagnose their students’ learning needs,” she said.
While smaller class sizes “appear to contribute to student learning,” the gains are most likely to be realized “when they are accompanied by the hiring of well-qualified teachers. The large-scale hiring of unqualified teachers, as was the case in California’s recent class size reduction initiative, would likely offset any achievement gains that could be realized by smaller class sizes.”
“Teacher Quality and Student Achievement: A Review of State Policy Evidence,” was published by the Education Policy Analysis Archives (epaa.asu.edu).
Teaching out of love, not money
Despite headlines depicting new teachers as disillusioned, findings from a study by Public Agenda show that an overwhelming majority of new teachers say teaching is work they love to do. In a spring 2000 survey of teachers who have been on the job five years or less, teachers were asked, “How important is it to you that a job have each of the following characteristics?”
% of new teachers responding Absolutely Current
essential teaching
position
has it
Involves work you love to do 83% 96%
Allows enough time to be with family 81 79
Contributes to society and helps others 72 97
Provides the supervision
and support you need 64 78
Has job security 60 84
Gives the sense you are
respected and appreciated 59 66
Has good opportunities for advancement 33 59
Pays well 30 31
Source: “A Sense of Calling: Who Teaches and Why;’ (2000), Public Agenda, www.publicagenda.org
COPYRIGHT 2001 Association of California School Administrators
COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group
