What Large-Scale, Survey Research Tells Us About Teacher Effects On Student Achievement: Insights from the Prospects Study of Elementary Schools

Teacher Effectiveness in First Grade: The Importance of Background Qualifications, Attitudes, and Instructional Practices for Student Learning

“…Indeed, the stipulations established by NCLB may not be the best indicators of teacher effectiveness; rather, aspects such as teacher attitudes and practices may be superior. 1 An array of studies has concluded that the amount students learn can be traced to aspects of teachers and teaching (Brophy & Good, 1986;Guarino, Hamilton, Lockwood, & Rathbun, 2006;Nye, Konstantopoulos, & Hedges, 2004;Rowan, Correnti, & Miller, 2002;Sanders & Horn, 1995;Wayne & Youngs, 2003;Xue & Meisels, 2004). That is, teachers differ substantially in their impact on student learning.…”

“…Some researchers have focused on the background characteristics of teachers, such as their educational attainment, achievement and intelligence test scores, experience, and credentials (Darling-Hammond, Berry, & Thoreson, 2001;Dunkin & Biddle, 1974;Ehrenberg & Brewer, 1994Rowan et al, 2002;Wayne & Youngs, 2003;Wenglinsky, 2002). These characteristics are attractive from a policy perspective, because many of them can be used to screen preservice teaching candidates.…”

“…That is, the practices that teachers employ in the classroom are more important than their education, credentials, experience, test scores, and other background variables. Two aspects of teaching have been examined in the research literature: teacher attitudes about their ability to teach and about students' ability to learn-sometimes referred to as teacher efficacy (Tschannen-Moran, Hoy, & Hoy, 1998)-and teaching practices or processes (Brophy & Good, 1986;Rowan et al, 2002). Compared to teacher background characteristics, teaching attitudes and practices have received less attention in the research literature, in part because they tend to be more difficult to measure or quantify.…”

Inquiry-Oriented Instruction in Science: Who Teaches That Way?

“…Given that NAEP is anonymous, confidential, and never linked back to teachers and focuses on behavioral rather than relational or affective instructional practices, we have a reasonable level of confidence in the self-report items as indicators of teachers' instruction on the limited dimensions in our study. Still, crosssectional survey data are not sufficient evidence for establishing causal relationships, although they can be suggestive and helpful in establishing the range of effect sizes that might be detectible in a randomized field trial (e.g., Rowan, Correnti, & Miller, 2002).…”

Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching, Standards-Based Mathematics Teaching Practices, and Student Achievement in the Context of the Responsive Classroom Approach

“…National reform efforts (e.g., Common Core Initiative, Race to the Top) direct attention toward the effectiveness of teachers and their role in reversing poor mathematics achievement among American students. There is no doubt that teachers play a critical role in students' mathematics learning and achievement (Chetty, Friedman, & Rockoff, 2011;Darling-Hammond, 2002;Hiebert & Grouws, 2007;Nye, Konstantopolous, & Hedges, 2004;Rowan, Correnti, & Miller, 2002). Teachers produce changes in students' achievement through the quality of classroom instructional interactions, including their selection of instructional tasks and opportunities afforded to students (Charalambous, 2010;Kilpatrick, Swafford, & Findell, 2001;Stein, Smith, Henningsen, & Silver, 2000).…”