Assessment Report Roundup

Analysis Finds Wide Variation in Effectiveness of L.A. Teachers

By Stephen Sawchuk — December 04, 2012 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Los Angeles has an unusually wide spread in the relative effectiveness of its teachers, according to an analysis released last month by the Strategic Data Project, an initiative housed at the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University.

The study looks primarily at mathematics teachers in the district who were teaching in grades 3-8 from the 2004-05 to the 2010-11 school years, and uses a student test-score growth measure to arrive at the calculations.

Among the findings:

• The difference in performance between top- and bottom-performing elementary math teachers was one-quarter of a standard deviation, or nearly eight months of learning, a figure the report characterizes as larger than in other districts that have been studied.

• Teachers who entered the district through Teach For America or the district’s career-ladder program, which helps paraprofessionals obtain full teaching positions, were slightly better on average than other teachers in math, giving students a boost of roughly one to two months of learning. But the career-ladder teachers were much more likely than those in TFA to stay in the district.

• Extended substitutes were generally more effective than new hires. The report notes that such teachers are often former district teachers and encourages more study of this population.

• Novice and early-career teachers were disproportionately assigned to lower-achieving students.

• Over his or her first five years in the district, the average math teacher improves enough to be able to give students the equivalent of three additional months of math instruction relative to the teacher’s initial performance.

Credentials generally were not linked to performance, but teachers with certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards tended to outperform others by the equivalent of one to two months. It’s not clear, though, whether those gains are a function of the certification process itself, or of the teachers who elect to become board-certified.

A version of this article appeared in the December 05, 2012 edition of Education Week as Analysis Finds Wide Variation In Effectiveness of L.A. Teachers

Events

Federal Webinar The Trump Budget and Schools: Subscriber Exclusive Quick Hit
EdWeek subscribers, join this 30-minute webinar to find out what the latest federal policy changes mean for K-12 education.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Curriculum Webinar
End Student Boredom: K-12 Publisher's Guide to 70% Engagement Boost
Calling all K-12 Publishers! Student engagement flatlining? Learn how to boost it by up to 70%.
Content provided by KITABOO
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School & District Management
Moving the Needle on Attendance: What’s Working NOW
See how family engagement is improving attendance, and how to put it to work in schools.
Content provided by TalkingPoints

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Assessment Opinion Our Grading System Was Setting Students Up to Fail—Until This Change
Our first reaction to standards-based grading was despair. Then, slowly, things began to change.
Matthew Ebert
5 min read
A student climbs up stairs as letter grades fall around her. In the background a teacher is grading a test.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week via Canva
Assessment In Case You Missed It: How Schools Are Measuring Student Success
Explore stories about grading practices, what truly reflects student achievement, and more.
5 min read
Grading and assessment SR
Robert Neubecker for Education Week
Assessment Quiz Quiz Yourself: How Much Do You Know About Standardized Testing & Improving Student Outcomes?
Answer 7 questions about improving standardized testing and student outcomes.
Assessment Fewer Subjects, Students, Data Points: Feds to Scale Back NAEP
Some 4th and 12th grade tests won't proceed as planned, following sweeping cuts to the U.S. Department of Education research arm last month.
5 min read
Evaluate Score, Forecast, Businessman Holding Telescope on Performance Measure
iStock/Getty