Analysis Examines L.A. Teacher Characteristics
Los Angeles has an unusually wide spread in the relative effectiveness of its teachers, according to an analysis released today by the Strategic Data Project, an initiative housed at the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University.
The study looks primarily at math teachers in the district who were teaching in grades 3-8 from the 2004-05 to 2010-11 school year, and uses a 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
The study looks primarily at math teachers in the district who were teaching in grades 3-8 from the 2004-05 to 2010-11 school year, and uses a 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