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Teacher Effectiveness

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Although many personal, family, and neighborhood factors contribute to a student's academic performance, a large body of research suggests that—among school-related factors—teachers matter most. RAND researchers examine and evaluate methods of measuring teacher effectiveness, as well as the critical relationship between teacher effectiveness and student achievement.

Commentary
Teachers Have Lost Out on Professional Development. Summer Programs Could Help
For thousands of teachers across the United States, 2020 was a year of uncertainty. Many lacked access to their usual professional learning activities. Summer programs for students that also offer learning opportunities for teachers might help make up for lost time.
Mar 5, 2021
Report
Student Growth Percentiles 101
One way to assess a teacher's effectiveness is to compare his or her students' achievement growth with that of other students.
Dec 4, 2019

Explore Teacher Effectiveness

Report
How Do Teachers Spend Professional Learning Time, and Does It Connect to Classroom Practice? Findings from the 2022 American Instructional Resources Survey
The authors examine how teachers use professional learning time, such as collaborative learning, workshops or trainings, and coaching, and the extent to which professional learning improves teaching and student learning.
Jun 21, 2023
Report
Readiness to Implement Evidence-Based Practices in Public Elementary Schools: Findings from a National Survey of Teachers
Using survey data from a nationally representative panel of 1,065 public elementary school teachers, the authors of this report examined teachers' perspectives on their readiness to implement evidence-based practices at their schools.
Mar 23, 2022
Journal Article
Validity Evidence Supporting Use of Anchoring Vignettes to Measure Teaching Practice
This paper addresses two potential drawbacks of survey self-report measures: variation in teachers' interpretation of response scales and their interpretation of survey questions.
Feb 8, 2022
Report
Widening the Pathway: Implementation and Impacts of Alternative Teacher Preparation Programs Across Three Contexts
The authors describe implementation of three alternative teacher preparation programs—called Teacher Effectiveness and Certification (TEACh) programs—and their effect on teacher recruitment, teacher retention, and student achievement.
Dec 16, 2021
Journal Article
Relationships Between Teaching Practices and Student Outcomes
This chapter explores how the three domains of mathematics teaching explored in prior chapters are related to three different student outcome measures.
Feb 17, 2021
Journal Article
The Consistency of Composite Ratings of Teacher Effectiveness: Evidence From New Mexico
We estimate the consistency of composite ratings of teacher quality from New Mexico's teacher evaluation system from 2015 to 2016.
Feb 17, 2021
Research Brief
How Can Teachers Make the Most of Professional Learning in the Summer?
This brief summarizes an examination of the potential value of academic summer programs for students that also offer professional learning opportunities for teachers.
Jan 12, 2021
Report
The Promise of Summer as a Time for Teacher Professional Learning: Findings from a National Survey and Implications from the BellXcel Program
This report presents data from the first nationally representative survey of teachers about their summer professional learning opportunities and data from a descriptive study of BellXcel Summer, an academic summer program model for students.
Jan 12, 2021
Journal Article
Examining Design and Statistical Power for Planning Cluster Randomized Trials Aimed at Improving Student Science Achievement and Science Teacher Outcomes
In this study, we consider strategies to maximize the efficiency of the study design when both student and teacher effects are of primary interest.
Nov 25, 2020
Research Brief
The Intensive Partnerships for Effective Teaching: A Comparison of School Outcomes
RAND researchers study the Intensive Partnerships for Effective Teaching initiative and find associations between school improvement and staff perceptions of school leaders' behaviors, staff cohesion, and factors outside schools' control.
Sep 21, 2020
Report
Variation in Improvement Among Schools in the Intensive Partnerships for Effective Teaching
RAND researchers investigate factors that might be associated with positive student outcomes for schools that improved during the six years of the Intensive Partnerships for Effective Teaching initiative.
Sep 21, 2020
Journal Article
Not Where You Start, but How Much You Grow: An Addendum to the Coleman Report
The Coleman Report (1966) first suggested that schools play a relatively small part in shaping students' achievement. The results in this paper suggest a need to update this conventional wisdom.
Jul 28, 2020
Report
How Are Educators Teaching and Leading Through the Pandemic?
U.S. teachers and principals shifted quickly to support students with distance learning during the early weeks of the coronavirus crisis. But unfortunately, the pandemic is likely to make existing inequalities worse.
Jun 22, 2020
Journal Article
Priming the Leadership Pipeline: School Performance and Climate Under an Urban School Leadership Residency Program
This study examines school climate and student achievement trends under an ambitious school leadership residency program in an urban school district.
Jun 16, 2020
Report
Writing Instruction in U.S. Classrooms: Diverging Perspectives for Teachers Across Content Areas
This American Educator Panels Data Note provides insights into secondary teachers' perceptions of their preparedness to teach and assess writing skills and their levels of support in the classroom.
May 14, 2020
Report
Using Data to Support the Intensive Partnerships for Effective Teaching Initiative: Data Collection, Metric and Dashboard Creation, and Lessons Learned
The Intensive Partnerships for Effective Teaching initiative was a multiyear effort to improve student outcomes by increasing access to effective teaching. The authors discuss challenges in measuring effectiveness and how the team addressed them.
Mar 5, 2020
Report
Stakeholder Feedback Surveys as Indicators of Teaching Effectiveness
According to the author, stakeholder surveys address a broad range of topics related to school and classroom climate. Some types of surveys can be used for teacher-level feedback.
Dec 4, 2019
Report
Beyond Achievement: How Teachers Affect Outcomes Other than Test Scores
Research shows that teachers matter for both test and nontest score outcomes. Teachers who excel at raising test scores do not necessarily excel at improving other outcomes.
Dec 4, 2019

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RAND Topic:
Teacher Effectiveness

Research conducted by

RAND Education and Labor