Teacher effectiveness study aims to help LAUSD close achievement gaps
By Kimberly Beltran
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Even small variations in teacher effectiveness can have great impact on student learning, equating to months-long differences in the amount of instruction pupils receive according to a new study released Wednesday.
Researchers from Harvard University identified teacher effectiveness patterns in the Los Angeles Unified School District in an effort to quantify some of those impacts and provide insight for improving academic achievement.
Using some six years of district data – including analysis of student test scores to measure teacher effectiveness – researchers at the Strategic Data Project at the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard revealed a number of key findings about practices in teacher assignment, recruitment and retention.
Included in the SDP findings: Novice teachers are too often assigned to students who are already behind academically – perpetuating the achievement gap; teachers recruited through the Career Ladder and Teach For America programs are more effective than the typical novice teacher, and National Board Certification is a stronger indicator of effectiveness than an advanced degree.
Researchers also observed that LAUSD has a wide variance in teacher effectiveness, implying that there is a
LAO delivers cheerful economic outlook – deficits covered, debts repaid
In as rosy an economic forecast as California has received in more than a decade, the non-partisan Legislative Analyst predicted Wednesday lawmakers would be in a position to not only meet ongoing K-12 education needs over the next five years but also to pay down some $13 billion in debt obligations owed schools.