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NJPEP Home > Professional Development > Teacher Quality

The Classroom and Student Achievement

R = research; N = news, I = information, W = white or policy papers
R How Teaching Matters: Bringing the Classroom Back Into Discussions of Teacher Quality, from ETS's Policy Information Center. This is a 38-page pdf file that studies math and science teaching.
Chapter I: Proposals to Improve Teacher Quality and What We Know About Their Effectiveness
Chapter II: A Portrait of America’s Teachers and Their Classroom Practices
Chapter III: Linking Aspects of Teacher Quality to Student Test Scores

Summary: It was found that there was...
a) strong support for the notion that conveying higher-order thinking skills leads to improved student performance,
b) some support for the effectiveness of individualizing instruction to take into account the differing knowledge and skills which different students bring into the classroom,
c) no support for collaborative learning: the study revealed no benefits... from working in small groups,
d) evidence that students suffer academically from a lack of point-in-time testing,
e) supportive evidence that professional development in cultural diversity, teaching students with limited English proficiency, and teaching students with special needs were all linked to higher test scores in mathematics, but not in science, and
f) several other findings in the area of professional development.
R Teacher Quality and Student Achievement: A Review of State Policy Evidence by Linda Darling-Hammond, January 1, 2000. See the Education Policy Analysis Archives for additional research articles. "...effects of well-prepared teachers on student achievement can be stronger than the influences of student background factors..."
"...states may impact the qualifications of the teachers through policies that influence the hiring standards..., the accreditation of teacher education institutions..., and the bodies that establish and enforce teaching standards..."
R Teacher Quality and Student Achievement: Recommendations for Principals by Leslie S. Kaplan and William A. Owings, November 2001, in the NASSP Bulletin. A review research article, distinguishing between teacher quality (what teachers bring into the system) and teaching quality (what they do). A list of factors relating teacher quality to increased student achievement is given, along with student behaviors that are indicators of quality teaching, and recommendations for principals.
R Standards and the Art of Teaching: Crafting High-Quality Classrooms by Carol Ann Tomlinson, February 2001. From the NASSP Bulletin archives, off the Publications section.
R, W See the Educators and Administrators on NJPEP's Achievement Gap site for additional articles. The North Carolina site, The Role of District Level Staff in Closing the Gap (with related articles) is excellent, and points out that there is more than one factor involved with student achievement.