Teacher Quality: Regional and National Studies

Following is an overview of current studies on teacher quality:

Regional Studies

• Teacher Induction
  The New Teacher Center is currently documenting the teacher induction practices in 13 school districts in the Kansas City area. This research will not only document the practices across the districts, but also determine if the level of teacher induction may be related to new teacher turnover.
• Middle School Math Teacher Effectiveness Study
  The Education Trust is studying the effectiveness and the practices of middle grades school math teachers from the Hickman Mills, Raytown, and Kansas City, Missouri School Districts.
• Missouri Teacher Incentive Program Study
  Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. is currently conducting a study to estimate the effects of the Missouri Career Ladder Program — a teacher incentive program in Missouri — on teachers' performance and career decisions and student achievement.
• Kansas City Teacher Labor Market Studies
  Michael Podugursky from the Department of Economics at the University of Missouri-Columbia conducted two studies on the characteristics of teachers in the metropolitan Kansas City area (22 school districts and charter schools in Clay, Jackson, and Platte Counties):
  
  • The Math and Science Teaching Workforce in the KC Metro Area: This study provides a statistical profile of the math and science teaching workforce in the Kansas City, Missouri metropolitan area. June 30, 2006
  • A Comparative Statistical Profile of Kansas City Teaching Fellows: This study provides a statistical profile of the Kansas City Teaching Fellows. December 5, 2004
  • A Statistical Profile of the KCMSD Teaching Workforce With a Special Emphasis on Teacher Training: This study provides a statistical profile of the teaching workforce in the Kansas City, Missouri School District. September 22, 2003
• Kansas City Area Schools of Education Study
  Researchers from the Missouri Schools of Education Research Project at the Teachers College at Columbia University studied the effectiveness of Kansas City area schools of education.
  
  • A Study of Teacher Preparation in Kansas City: March 2, 2005

National Studies 

• The Education Schools Project
  Researchers from The Education Schools Project studied education leader and teacher preparations programs at colleges and universities across the country.
  
  • Educating Leaders: This report—the first in a series of policy papers on the education of educators—offers a candid, no-holds-barred analysis of the university-based programs that educate the vast majority of the nation's school principals and superintendents.
  • Educating Teachers: This report is the second in a series of candid policy papers on the education of educators. It identifies several model teacher education programs, but also finds that the vast majority of the nation's teachers are prepared in programs that have low admission and graduation standards and cling to an outdated vision of teacher education. Both state requirements and accreditation agencies have failed to assure that America's teachers are ready for the classrooms in which they will teach.
    
• Teacher Effectiveness Study
  Dan Goldhaber from the University of Washington used a database from North Carolina to explore the relationship between teacher testing and teacher effectiveness.
  
  • Everyone's Doing It, But What Does Teacher Testing Tell Us About Teacher Effectiveness: October 16, 2006
    
• Value-Added Assessment Study
  Daniel McCafferty of the RAND Corporation is looking at the effectiveness of the Value-Added Assessment on student outcomes in districts across the state of Pennsylvania.
• Math Teacher Preparation Study
  The Teacher Preparation Study Panel of the National Academy of Sciences is currently conducting an in-depth analysis of mathematics education teacher preparation programs.