A new study published in the current issue of Educational Researcher began with a simple question: Is the well-documented phenomenon of teacher effectiveness increasing substantially over the first two years of teaching due to skill improvement over time, or because weaker teachers choose to leave—making the overall teaching pool look better?
Using a value-added model, the researchers looked at data from North Carolina from the 2005-06 through 2008-09 school years for 3rd-12th grades. Statewide standardized test scores were analyzed and separated out by the year in which the teachers left the state’s public schools.
They found some surprising results. Teachers become significantly more effective in their second year teaching, but for those who stay five years effectiveness seems to level off after the third year in the classroom. In other words, teachers who remain in the field are at their effectiveness “peak” their third and fourth years of teaching. Teachers who left the school had a notable decline in effectiveness; and in 2 of the 10 data comparisons run by the researchers, they found that departing teachers actually performed worse on average their last year than in previous years.
The authors have two possible explanations for these trends: 1) in North Carolina, tenure is granted after 4 years, so perhaps those leaving are actually being “weeded out;” or 2) knowing they were leaving at the end of the school year, these teachers simply “checked out” (mentally).
The authors’ conclusions may not be received warmly in the current climate. They suggest that rather than firing teachers who are not up to scratch, invest more time and effort to improve early-career teachers’ skills. However, the authors remain a bit puzzled about why teacher effectiveness seems to universally flatten after the third year of teaching. “Are teachers’ habits of mind and teaching practices so firmly in place by that stage that gains in effectiveness are uncommon?” they ask.
It is an important question to think about as the country moves forward with plans to increase teacher accountability for student performance.
To read more, please visit http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/teacherbeat/2011/09/study_when_early-career_teache.html
To read the original study, visit http://www.aera.net/publications/Default.aspx?menu_id=38&id=12776
Core Education, LLC is pleased to support districts and states with the design of comprehensive professional supports for teachers including mentoring, coaching, and differentiated professional development. See www.CoreEducationLLC.com/PD.php for more information.
