Teaching Quality Matters

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Teaching Quality Matters
Candace Crawford Sandra Tasic The Education
Trust
National Center for Transforming School
Counseling Ninth Annual Summer Academy St.
Louis, MO June 7, 2008
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Today, We Will Talk About

• Impact of teacher quality on student learning and
  college readiness
• Teacher distribution and the teacher quality gap
  at the national, state and district levels
• Using proxy measures of teacher quality
• Using value-added measures of teacher quality
• Scenario-based exercise
• What counselors can do to affect change in their
  schools

3
Teachers matter a lot.
In fact, research confirms that the most
important factor in student learning is an
effective teacher.
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Students Who Start 3rd Grade at About the Same
Level of Reading Achievement
Average Percentile Rank
Source Heather Jordan, Robert Mendro, and Dash
Weerasinghe, The Effects of Teachers on
Longitudinal Student Achievement, 1997.
5
Finish 6th Grade at Dramatically Different
Levels Depending on the Quality of Their Teachers
Average Percentile Rank
Source Heather Jordan, Robert Mendro, and Dash
Weerasinghe, The Effects of Teachers on
Longitudinal Student Achievement, 1997.
6
Huge Differences in Math Achievement for the
Average Student in the Classrooms of Bottom
Quartile and Top Quartile Teachers
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Gordon, R., Kane, T.J., and Staiger, D.O. (2006).
Identifying Effective teachers Using Performance
on the Job. Washington, D.C. The Brookings
Institution.
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Massive Impact

• If the effects were to accumulate, having a
• top-quartile teacher rather than a bottom
• quartile teacher four years in a row would be
• enough to close the black-white test score
• gap.

Source Gordon, R., Kane, T.J., and Staiger, D.O.
(2006). Identifying Effective Teachers Using
Performance on the Job. Washington, D.C. The
Brookings Institution.
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Teacher quality has a huge impact on college
readiness
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College Readiness Index Illinois Education
Research Council

• Uses student ACT scores and self-reported GPA
• Five levels of readiness
• Most ready
• More ready
• Somewhat ready
• Minimally ready
• Not/least ready

Source Presley, J. and Gong, Y. (2005). The
Demographics and Academics of College Readiness
in Illinois. Illinois Education Research Council
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College Readiness Increases as Teacher Quality
Increases
Percent of Students
Source Presley, J. and Gong, Y. (2005). The
Demographics and Academics of College Readiness
in Illinois. Illinois Education Research Council.
11
College Math Readiness is Affected More by
Teacher Quality than by Courses Taken
Percent of Students Most / More Ready
Algebra II
Trigonometry or other advanced math
Calculus
Lowest Quartile
Lowest 11-25 TQI
Highest TQI Quartile
Upper- Middle TQI Quartile
Lower- Middle TQI Quartile
Lowest 10 TQI
Source Presley, J. and Gong, Y. (2005). The
Demographics and Academics of College Readiness
in Illinois. Illinois Education Research Council.
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At Schools With Lowest Overall College Readiness,
the Higher the TQI, the More Students Go to
College
School Mean College Readiness in Lowest Quartile
Source Gong, Y. and Presley, J. (2006). The
Demographics and Academics of College Going in
Illinois. http//ierc.siue.edu/documents/College_G
oing_2006-2.pdf
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At Schools With Highest Overall College
Readiness, the Higher the TQI, the More Students
Go to Four Year Colleges
School Mean College Readiness in Highest Quartile
Source Gong, Y. and Presley, J. (2006). The
Demographics and Academics of College Going in
Illinois. http//ierc.siue.edu/documents/College_G
oing_2006-2.pdf
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• However, even though we know
• that teachers can literally
• make or break a childs
• progress for years to come

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No matter what measure you use

• Years of experience
• Major in field
• Certification status
• Basic Skills and Aptitude
• Effectiveness

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• Low-performing, low-income, and minority
  students across the nation are not getting their
  fair share of our strongest teachers.

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Proxy Measures of Teacher Quality

• Years of experience
• Major in field
• Certification status
• Masters degree
• Effectiveness

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Teacher Quality Gap at the National Level

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More Classes in High-Poverty Secondary Schools
Taught by Out-of-Field Teachers
High- Poverty
Low-poverty
National
Note High Poverty school-75 or more of the
students are eligible for free/reduced price
lunch. Low-poverty school -15 or fewer of the
students are eligible for free/reduced price
lunch.
Teachers with neither certification nor major.
Data for secondary-level core academic classes
(Math, Science, Social Studies, English) across
United States. Source Analysis of 2003-2004
Schools and Staffing Survey data by Richard
Ingersoll, University of Pennsylvania 2007.
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Students at High-Minority Schools More Likely to
Be Taught By Novice Teachers
Note High minority school-75 or more of the
students are Black, Hispanic, American Indian or
Alaskan Native, Asian or Pacific Islander.
Low-minority school -10 or fewer of the students
are non-White students.
Novice teachers are those with three years or
fewer experience. Source Analysis of 2003-2004
Schools and Staffing Survey data by Richard
Ingersoll, University of Pennsylvania 2007.
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Teacher Quality Gap at the State Level

Illinois
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The Teacher Quality Index Developed by the
Illinois Education Research Council

• School Level Teacher Characteristics
• of Teachers with Emergency/Provisional
  Certification
• of Teachers from More/Most Selective Colleges
• of Teachers with lt 4 Years Experience
• of Teachers Failing Basic Skills Test on First
  Attempt
• School Average of Teachers ACT Composite and
  English Scores

School Teacher Quality Index (TQI)
Source DeAngelis, K., Presley, J. and White, B.
(2005). The Distribution of Teacher Quality in
Illinois. Illinois Education Research Council.
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Using the TQI to Rank Schools

• Calculated TQI score for each school in the state
  
• Ranked all the schools in the state from highest
  to lowest TQI
• Divided that list into quartiles
• In some cases, further subdivided the lowest
  quartile into lowest 10 and 11-25
• Examined schools by percent low-income and
  percent minority

Source DeAngelis, K., Presley, J. and White, B.
(2005). The Distribution of Teacher Quality in
Illinois. Illinois Education Research Council.
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As Minority Enrollment Increases in Illinois,
Teacher Quality Decreases
Percent of Schools in Lowest TQI Quartile
lt50
50-89
90-98
99-100
School Percent Minority
Source Presley, J., White, B. and Gong, Y.
(2005). Examining the Distribution and Impact of
Teacher Quality in Illinois. Illinois Education
Research Council.
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As Poverty Increases in Illinois, Teacher
Quality Decreases
Percent of Schools in Lowest TQI Quartile
0-9
10-29
30-49
50-89
90-100
School Percent Poverty
Source Presley, J., White, B. and Gong, Y.
(2005). Examining the Distribution and Impact of
Teacher Quality in Illinois. Illinois Education
Research Council.
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Teacher Quality Gap at the State Level

Texas
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The Texas Teacher Credentials Gap

• In Texas, at every school level and in all core
  subjects, Hispanic, African-American and
  low-income students are more likely than their
  affluent and white peers to be taught by
  out-of-field teachers.

Source Analysis of 2005-2006 publicly available
data from the Texas Education Agencys Public
Education Information Management System by Ed
Fuller, Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin.
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Algebra I In Texas, Low-Income and Minority
Students More Likely to be Taught by Out-of-field
Teachers
Source Analysis of 2006-2007 Teacher Employment
Records from the Public Education Information
Management Systems by Ed Fuller, Ph.D.,
University of Texas at Austin.
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English I In Texas, Low-Income and Minority
Students More Likely to Be Taught by Out-of-field
Teachers
Source Analysis of 2006-2007 Teacher Employment
Records from the Public Education Information
Management Systems by Ed Fuller, Ph.D.,
University of Texas at Austin.
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Teacher Quality Gap at the State Level

Wisconsin
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More Novice Teachers in Low-Performing Wisconsin
Elementary Schools
Percent of novice teachers (Less than 3 years of
experience)
High- Performing Elementary Schools (Reading)
Low- Performing Elementary Schools (Reading)
High- Performing Elementary Schools (Math)
Low- Performing Elementary Schools (Math)
Note Low-performing in reading is 70.2
proficient or lower high performing is 96.2 or
higher. Low-performing in math is 57
proficient or lower high-performing is 92.9 or
higher.
Source Teacher Distribution Project Wisconsin.
April 5, 2006.
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Teacher Quality Gap at the School Level

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Novice Teachers More Likely to Be Assigned to
Lower Grades
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Novice Teachers More Likely to Be Assigned to
Lower Grades
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If we look at the effectiveness of teachers as
determined by how much they grow their students
academically over the course of the year the
value-added approach we see that the
high-poverty and high-minority schools also get
LESS than their fair share of the highly
effective (i.e., high value-added) teachers.
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Teacher Quality Gap at the State Level

Tennessee
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High poverty/high minority schools have fewer of
the most effective teachers
Note High Poverty/High minority means at least
75 qualify for FRPL and at least 75 are
minority.
Source Tennessee Department of Education 2007.
Tennessees Most Effective Teachers Are they
assigned to the schools that need them most?
http//tennessee.gov/education/nclb/doc/TeacherEff
ectiveness2007_03.pdf
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High poverty/high minority schools have higher
percentages of the least effective teachers
Note High Poverty/High minority means at least
75 qualify for FRPL and at least 75 are
minority.
Source Tennessee Department of Education 2007.
Tennessees Most Effective Teachers Are they
assigned to the schools that need them most?
http//tennessee.gov/education/nclb/doc/TeacherEff
ectiveness2007_03.pdf
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The most effective teachers in
high poverty/high minority schools are even
more effective than the most effective
teachers in low poverty/low minority schools.
Note High Poverty/High minority means at least
75 qualify for FRPL and at least 75 are
minority.
Source Tennessee Department of Education 2007.
Tennessees Most Effective Teachers Are they
assigned to the schools that need them most?
http//tennessee.gov/education/nclb/doc/TeacherEff
ectiveness2007_03.pdf
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Teacher Quality Gap at the District Level

Dallas, TX
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Low-Achieving Students are More Likely to be
Assigned to Ineffective Teachers than Effective
Teachers
Source Sitha Babu and Robert Mendro, Teacher
Accountability HLM-Based Teacher Effectiveness
Indices in the Investigation of Teacher Effects
on Student Achievement in a State Assessment
Program, AERA Annual Meeting, 2003.
42
Low-Achieving Students are Less Likely to be
Assigned to Effective Teachers Than Their
Higher-Achieving Peers
Source Sitha Babu and Robert Mendro, Teacher
Accountability HLM-Based Teacher Effectiveness
Indices in the Investigation of Teacher Effects
on Student Achievement in a State Assessment
Program, AERA Annual Meeting, 2003.
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Scenario I
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You are the counselor at Enterprise K-8 School.
It is June and you are sitting down to assign
students to classes next fall. As you start to
work your way through the assignment of 6th grade
students, one childs name pops out at you.
Jayson Park, a young man you have come to know,
was in Ms.Waters 5th grade class this past year.
Jayson did not do well in Ms. Waterss class.
When Jaysons academic troubles first came to
your attention, you checked his 3rd and 4th grade
scores and discovered that he scored very high on
the state assessment in both reading and math.
You have noticed over the years that other
students who have previously done well in 3rd and
4th grade often see a decline in performance in
Ms. Waterss class.
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Scenario II
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Each year, you try to meet with each of your 9th
grade students to discuss their classes for the
coming year. Kenneth Maynard has just left your
office. He has his mind set on taking Ms. Coxs
math class next year and specifically requested
her. Kenneth has not made up his mind about a
career. Additionally, it is widely acknowledged
that Ms. Cox does not challenge her students,
especially her African-American male students.
You know that placing Kenneth in Ms. Coxs class
will not put him on a course to be prepared for
college or career and will limit his options for
the future.
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What can school counselors do to ensure that
low-income and minority students get the teachers
they need?
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Some actions

• Be Informed Seek out and utilize available data
• Student achievement data
• Teacher effectiveness data (Value-Added)
• Change the culture of teacher assignment
• Review master schedules to find out who is
  teaching whom
• Use your knowledge to advise students on what
  courses to take

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Some actions

• Create Allies Start difficult conversations
  with principals and teachers
• How do we recruit retain the best teachers?
• How do we assign the best teachers to students
  who need them the most?
• How we do provide the appropriate professional
  development to improve teacher quality in our
  school?
• How do we most effectively use data to improve
  teacher quality in our building?

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What is one thing you think YOU could do to
address teacher inequality?
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Join us for our national conference November
13-15 Its Up to Us Going the Distance to
Close Gaps and Raise Achievement for All
Stay connected Place your contact information in
the EdTrust bag on your way out. Download this
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