Characteristics of Highly Effective Teachers: A Literature Review

October 26, 2010

Research Review

Why?To learn from evidence & data

How?Closely examine the most recent, highly respected, frequently cited and peer-reviewed studies

Research Review

Purpose?To identify conclusions supported by the literature (data, research, critical analysis)

What if we start with conclusions?

Research-based evidence has the power to

change minds and shift conclusions.

High Standards =

Rigorous methodology and sound statistical analysis

Highly Effective Teachers: What the Research Tells Us

Virtually all research on the qualities of highly effective teachers agrees on the importance of one factor:

EXPERIENCE

Highly Effective Teachers: What the Research Tells Us

“Teaching experience is perhaps the only characteristic that has consistently been found related to teacher effectiveness.”

Rockoff et al (2008) National Bureau of Economic Research

The experience of the teacher correlates withbetter test scores for students. Half of this“effect” is achieved by the end of the first twoyears of teaching.

Clotfelter et al (2007)CALDER: Urban Institute, National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in

Education Research

Highly Effective Teachers: What the Research Tells Us

Research is limited by available data.

Highly Effective Teachers: What the Research Tells Us

Useful results depend on the input of relevant, accurate and timely data

Highly Effective Teachers: What the Research Tells Us

Most research on teacher effectiveness has examined a relatively small set of teacher characteristics, because they are collected by school districts to satisfy legal requirements and set salaries.

College selectivity

Teachers’ college grades

Teachers’ test scores (ACT, Basic Skills)

Graduate (MA, PhD) degrees

Highly Effective Teachers: What the Research Tells Us

The research concludes that some ofthose factors have little or nocorrelation to teacher effectiveness.

Highly Effective Teachers: What the Research Tells Us

COLLEGE SELECTIVITY?

Coming from a selective college is not at all correlated with the achievement of a teacher's pupils.

Goldhaber (2007)

Highly Effective Teachers: What the Research Tells Us

COLLEGE SELECTIVITY?

A multiplicity of studies have concluded that the quality of theaccredited undergraduate institution attended bears little to norelationship to teacher productivity in elementary or middleschool.

Buddin et al (2009), Clotfelter et al (2006, 2007a), Goldhaber (2007), Kane et al (2006)

Only a single study found a positive and significant relationship betweenthe prestige of the undergraduate institution and productivity of highschool teachers.

Clotfelter et al (2007b)

Highly Effective Teachers: What the Research Tells Us

TEACHERS’ GRADES?

As with the other measures of undergraduateeducation, there is no significant relationshipbetween GPA and subsequent teacherperformance.

Kane et al (2006)

Highly Effective Teachers: What the Research Tells Us

TEST SCORES?[SAT-equivalent]

“We discovered that test scores have been less related to teaching performance than [teacher education] students’ success levels in the pre-service programs the tests were designed to hold accountable.”

D’Agostino & Powers (2009)American Educational Research Journal

“We also find that teacher entrance exam scores are not associated

with teacher productivity.” Harris & Sass (2007)

Highly Effective Teachers: What the Research Tells Us

TEST SCORES?[Praxis, Basic Skills]

There is no difference between teachers who passed a test on the second or third try and teachers who passed it the first time.

Teacher attrition is highest among new teachers who score highest on the tests.

Goldhaber (2007)

Highly Effective Teachers: What the Research Tells Us

GRADUATE DEGREES?

Master’s degrees make no difference, unless the Master’s degree is specifically situated in the area being taught.

Goldhaber, (2007)

Advanced degrees are not necessarily correlated with student achievement.

Clotfelter et al, (2007)

Many organizations use this data to advocate policy.

Some examples include:• Chicago Consortium on School Research• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation• Education Trust• Illinois Education Research Council (IERC)

Highly Effective Teachers: What the Research Tells Us

Illinois Education Research Council (IERC)

The distribution of teacher quality in Illinois, (2005)

Examining the Distribution and Impact of Teacher Quality in Illinois, (2005)

Leveling Up: Narrowing the Teacher Academic Capital Gap in Illinois, (2008)

Illinois Education Research Council (IERC)

“Teacher Quality Index”“Teacher Academic Capital”

High ACT Score +

High College Selectivity +

Pass Basic Skills on first attempt =

High Student Achievement

Illinois Education Research Council (IERC)“Teacher Quality Index” “Teacher Academic Capital”

Basis for including ACT, Basic Skills andCollege Selectivity in TQI and TAC:

Rice, J. K. (2003). Teacher quality: Understanding the effectiveness of teacher attributes. Washington, D.C.: Economic Policy Institute.

Wayne, A. J., & Youngs, P. (2003). Teacher characteristics and student achievement gains: A review. Review of Educational Research, 73(1), 89-122.

Rice (2003). Teacher quality: Understanding theeffectiveness of teacher attributes. Washington, D.C.: Economic Policy Institute.

Studies show the National Teachers Examination and other state-mandated tests of basic skills and/or teaching abilities are less consistent predictors of teacher performance.

“Research suggests that the selectivity/prestige of the institution a teacher attended has a positive effect on student achievement, particularly at the secondary level. This may partially be a reflection of the cognitive ability of the teacher.”

Tests that assess the literacy levels or verbal abilities of teachers have been shown to be associated with higher levels of student achievement.

Highly Effective Teachers: What the Research Tells Us

Highly Effective Teachers: What the Research Tells Us

Wayne & Youngs (2003). Teacher characteristics and student achievement gains: A review. Review of Educational Research, 73(1), 89-122.

“only three research efforts have sought to determine whether students learn more from teachers who graduated from better-rated undergraduate institutions.”

Wayne & Youngs (2003) draws from:

Summers & Wolfe (1975, 1977) Set of studies taken in Philadelphia,1970–1971 Data dating back to the 1967-1968 school year Samples of students in the 6th, 8th and 12th grades

• No determinate relationships were found among 12th graders, the 6th grade findings were mixed.

• The only positive correlation was between teachers’ Gourman scores and 8th-grade social studies teachers.

Murnane & Phillips (1981) data from a • “…welfare experiment in Gary, Indiana, in the early 1970s.” • They could not discern any relationship between students’ ITBS vocabulary score

gains and teachers’ college ratings.

Ehrenberg & Brewer (1994) • used a “High School and Beyond” data set from tests taken by 10th graders in 1980

and the same students as 12th graders in 1982. • They found that teachers from better-rated (Barron’s) undergraduate institutions

were “…more effective with White and Black students, but findings were indeterminate for Hispanic students.”

Highly Effective Teachers: What the Research Tells Us

Wayne & Youngs (2003)

"...policymakers may wish to require that teachers hold degrees from institutions with particular quality characteristics. Third-party accreditation is the typical policy instrument by which institutional quality is assured. Researchers seeking to inform policy might therefore examine the relative effectiveness of teachers from institutions with different accreditation statuses.”

Highly Effective Teachers: What the Research Tells Us

“…it is a mistake to believe that one or two characteristics of teachers can explain their effects on student achievement.”

Darling-Hammond, L. and Sykes, G. (2003). Wanted: A national teacher supply policy for education: The right way to meet the "Highly Qualified Teacher" challenge. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 11(33).

Highly Effective Teachers: What the Research Tells Us

The National Bureau of Economic Research sought to identify characteristics of effective teachers using college selectivity and test scores as well as “non-traditional” indicators.

Findings were published in this study:

Rockoff, Jonah E., Brian A. Jacob, Thomas J. Kane, Douglas O. Staiger, (2008). Can You Recognize an Effective Teacher When You Recruit One? National Bureau of Economic Research, Working Paper 14485.

Rockoff et al (2008) Can You Recognize an Effective Teacher When You Recruit One?

“Traditional” cognitive indicators• College selectivity• Test Scores• IQ

“Non-Traditional” non-cognitive indicators• Extraversion• Emotional stability• Open to new experiences• Conscientiousness• Self-Efficacy• Haberman Pre-Screener Performance

Highly Effective Teachers: What the Research Tells Us

Rockoff, et al (2008) Can You Recognize an Effective Teacher When You Recruit One?

“Traditional” cognitive indicators “Non-Traditional” non-cognitive indicators

Among new 4th – 6th grade math teachers in NYC public schools, there was a small positive correlation between these sets of indicators and student achievement.

The positive correlation was to the same degree. Higher scores in either category of indicators were predictive of future teacher efficacy.

Highly Effective Teachers: What the Research Tells Us

A broader range of data correlated with teacher effectiveness includes:

Skills to develop and teach concepts

Previous classroom experience

Content knowledge

Relationship to community and culture

Personality traits and maturity levels

Effective teachers have a combination of attributes.

• Extensive content knowledge• Pedagogical skills for teaching particular subject matter• Ability to teach concepts in a multiplicity of ways • Know how to motivate and engage students• Strong commitment to serving parents as well as students • Capacity to manage and assess diverse students

(Darling-Hammond & Sykes (2003), Delpit 2006, Hill & Gillette 2005, Payne 2008)

CONTENT KNOWLEDGE

• Students of fully certified mathematics teachers experienced significantly larger gains in achievement than those taught by teachers not certified in math.

• Knowledge of the material is essential to good teaching, but returns to subject matter expertise grow smaller beyond some minimal essential level which exceeds the demands of the curriculum being taught.

Darling-Hammond & Sykes (2003)

SKILLS TO DEVELOP & TEACH CONCEPTS

Teaching practices had the strongest effects on achievement: students performed better when teachers provided hands-on learning opportunities and focused on higher-order thinking skills.

Wenglinsky (2002)

Former teachers’ assistants, paraprofessionals, classroom volunteers already know how classrooms “work” and have participated in and/or witnessed the process of teaching and learning .

Humphrey & Wechsler (2007)

SOCIAL CAPITALRelationships with Parents & Community

A teacher who lives in the neighborhood and who has built relationships and friendships in the community with parents, community groups, and other community agencies will increase the number of supportive adults in student’s lives and the connectedness of those adults. School success is influenced by relationships in all three of the key places where children live, learn, and grow—their neighborhood, their home, and their school

Bronfenbrenner, (2005)

Family and community involvement, including how teachers and parents communicate and the level of human and social resources in the community, is one of five “essential supports” for school improvement.

Bryk et al (2009)

Social capital among neighborhood adults predicts higher standardized test scores in both math and reading.

Woolley & Grogan-Kaylor (2006)

SOCIAL CAPITALRelationships with Parents & Community

Neighborhoods with strong social capital are four or five times as likely to have high-functioning schools as neighborhoods where the residents feel disconnected with one another.

Payne (2008)

When people are connected and know each other well, they can work together to make their schools and communities better. Social capital promotes civic engagement--parents and other community members are more likely to participate in activities when they know other people and trust them.

Warren (2005)

CULTURALLY REFLECTIVE & CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE

What are the characteristics of excellent teachers of students of thenew majority, that is:• poor students of color• economically disadvantaged students• From culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds who attend our nation’s most troubled and least supported schools?

Nieto (2005)

CULTURALLY REFLECTIVE

“when a student and a teacher are the same race, the effects on student achievement are positive.”

Clotfelter et al (2007)

Latino bilingual teachers, at least partially in response to their own experiences in schools as children, committed themselves to creating classroom environments where students felt culturally validated and cared for in genuine ways.

Martinez (2000)

CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE

Teachers must be culturally competent, so that students can maintain some cultural integrity while pursuing academic excellence.

Ladson-Billings (2006)

Culturally responsive teaching is validating, comprehensive, multidimensional, empowering, transformative, and emancipatory.

Santamaria (2009)

CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE

The research literature demonstrates a number of common characteristics; effective teachers:

• place a high value on students’ identities (culture, race, language, gender, and experiences, among others)

• connect learning to students’ lives• have high expectations for all students, even for those others may have given up on• stay committed to students in spite of obstacles that get in the way• view parents and other community members as partners in education• create a safe haven for learning• dare to challenge the bureaucracy of the school and district• are resilient in the face of difficult situations• use active learning strategies• are willing and eager to experiment• view themselves as life-long learners• care about, respect, and love their students

Nieto (2005)

Location, Location, Location!

Teachers go home to teach: 85% of teachers end up teachingwithin 40 miles from where they grew up—so teachers, whohave not grown up in low income urban neighborhoods, leavethese low-income urban schools in large numbers every year,with almost half leaving after teaching just three years.

Boyd, D., et al (2005) The Draw of Home: How Teachers’ Preferences for Proximity Disadvantage Urban Schools, Journal of Policy Analysis and

Management

What does this current research tell us about what matters for effective teaching?

Experience matters: effective teachers hit their stride two to three years into teaching

Content expertise matters: effective teachers need to know what they’re teaching

Pedagogical skills matter: effective teachers need to know how to teach Relationships matter: effective teachers nurture reciprocal relationships

with families and communities Culture matters: effective teachers teach in culturally compatible and/or

culturally responsive ways Self awareness matters: effective teachers are self-reflective, mature and

caring Context matters: effective teachers teach in their home communities

References

Boyd, D., Lankford, H., Loeb, S., Wyckoff, J. (2005) The Draw of Home: How Teachers’ Preferences for Proximity Disadvantage Urban Schools, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp 113-132.

Richard Buddin & Gema Zamarro, (2009).

Teacher Qualifications and Middle School Student Achievement, Working Papers 671, RAND Corporation Publications Department.

Bronfenbrenner, U. (Ed.). (2005) Making human beings human. Bioecological

perspectives on human development. Thousand Oaks: Sage. Bryk, A., Bender Sebring, P., Allensworth, E., Luppescu, S., & Easton, J.Q. (2009)

Organizing Schools for Improvement: Lessons from Chicago. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.

Clotfelter, C. T., Ladd, H. F., & Vigdor, J. L. (2006, Fall). Teacher-student matching

and the assessment of teacher effectiveness. Journal of Human Resources, 41(4), 778–820.

Clotfelter, C. T., Ladd, H. F., & Vigdor, J. L. (2007a, March). How and why do teacher

credentials matter for student achievement? Working Paper 2. Washington, DC: Urban Institute, National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research.

Clotfelter, C. T., Ladd, H. F., & Vigdor, J. L. (2007b, October). Teacher credentials

and student achievement in high school: A cross-subject analysis with student fixed effects. Working Paper 11. Washington, DC: Urban Institute, National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research.

D’Agostino, J.V. & Powers, S. J., (2009, March). Predicting teacher performance

with test scores and grade point average: A meta-analysis. American Educational Research Journal, 46(1).

Darling-Hammond, Linda (2006). Securing the Right to Learn: Policy and Practice

for Powerful Teaching and Learning. Educational Researcher, October 2006, 35:13-24.

Darling-Hammond, Linda (2000) Teacher Quality and Student Achievement: A review of State Policy Evidence. Education Policy Analysis Archives, Volume 8 No 1. January 1, 2000

Darling-Hammond, L.. and Sykes, G.. (2003, September 17). Wanted: A national

teacher supply policy for education: The right way to meet the "Highly Qualified Teacher" challenge. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 11(33). Retrieved October 21, 2010 from http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v11n33/.

DeAngelis, Karen J., Presley, Jennifer B. and White, Bradford R.(2005). The

distribution of teacher quality in Illinois (IERC 2005-1). Edwardsville, IL: Illinois Education Research Council.

Delpit, L. (2006). Other people’s children (rev. ed.). New York: The New Press. Goldhaber, D. (2007) Everyone’s Doing It, But What Does Teacher Testing Tell Us

About Teacher Effectiveness? Journal of Human Resources; 42(4): 765-794 Haberman, Martin. (1995). Selecting “star” teachers for children and youth in

urban poverty. Indianapolis, IN: Phi Delta Kappan, 76: 777-781. Haberman, Martin, The Rationale for Preparing Mature Adults as Teachers of

Diverse Children in Urban Poverty. Website: Haberman Foundation Harris, D. N., & Sass, T. R. (2007, March). Teacher training, teacher quality, and

student achievement. (Working Paper 3). Washington, DC: The Urban Institute, National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (CALDER).

Hill, D., & Gillette, M. (2005). Teachers for tomorrow in urban schools: Recruiting

and supporting the pipeline. Multicultural Perspectives, 7(3), 42-50. .

References, continued

Humphrey, D. C., & Wechsler, M.E. (2005). Insights into Alternative Certification: Initial Findings from a National Study. Teachers College Record, 107 (11).

Kane, T., Rockoff, J., & Staiger, D. (2006, April). What does certification tell us about teacher effectiveness? Evidence from New York City. NBER Working Paper 12155. Cambridge, MA:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Ladson-Billings, Gloria. (1995) But that’s Just Good Teaching! The Case for Culturally Relevant Pedagogy. Theory into Practice, Volume 34, Number 3

Martinez, E.S. (2000). Ideological baggage in the classroom: Resistance and

resilience among bilingual students and teachers. In E.T. Trueba & L.I. Bartolome (Eds.), Immigrant voices: In search of educational equity (pp. 93-106). Lanham, MD: Bowman and LittlefieldMurrell, P.C. (2001). The community teacher: A new framework for effective urban teaching. New York: Teacher College Press.

Nieto, S. (2005) Schools for a New Majority: The Role of Teacher Education in Hard times. The New Educator, v. 1, n. 1 (January-March, 2005), pp. 27-43.

Payne, Charles. (2008) So Much Reform, So Little Change: The Persistence of

Failure in Urban Schools. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press. Presley, Jennifer B, Bradford R. White and Yuqin Gong (2005). Examining the

Distribution and Impact of Teacher Quality in Illinois (IERC 2005-2). Edwardsville, IL: Illinois Education Research Council.

Ravitch, Diane. (2010) The Death and Life of the Great American School System:

How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education. New York: Basic Books.

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

teacher attributes. Washington, DC: Economic Policy Institute.

Rockoff, Jonah E., Brian A. Jacob, Thomas J. Kane, Douglas O. Staiger, (2008). Can

You Recognize an Effective Teacher When You Recruit One? National Bureau of Economic Research, Working Paper 14485.

Santamaria, Lorri J. (2009) Culturally Responsive Differentiated Instruction:

Narrowing Gaps Between Best Pedagogical Practices Benefiting All Learners. Teachers College Record Volume 111 Number 1, p. 214-247.

Valenzuela, A. (1999) Subtractive schooling: U.S.-Mexican youth and the politics

of caring. Albany, NY: SUNY Press Warren, M. (2005) Communities & Schools: A New View of Urban Education

Reform. Harvard Educational Review, 75 (Summer): 133-173. Wayne, A. J., & Youngs, P. (2003). Teacher characteristics and student

achievement gains: A review. Review of Educational Research, 73(1), 89–122.

Wenglinsky, H. (2002). How schools matter: The link between teacher classroom

practices and student academic performance. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 10(12); retrieved from http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v10n12/.

White, Bradford R., Jennifer, B. Presley, and Karen J. DeAngelis Leveling Up:

Narrowing the Teacher Academic Capital Gap in Illinois (IERC 2008-1). Woolley, M. E. & Bowen, G. L. (2007). In the context of risk: Supportive adults

and the school engagement of middle school students. Family Relations, 56, 92-104.

Woolley, M. E. & Grogan-Kaylor, A. (2006) Protective family factors in the context

of neighborhood: Promoting positive school outcomes. Family Relations, 55, 95-106.

Presented by Brian D. Schultz, Ph.D.Associate Professor and Honors FacultyEducational Inquiry & Curriculum Studies Northeastern Illinois University

Researched and compiled by Leslie Ramyk, M.A.

Dedicated to our friend and colleague Steve Andrews.