Teachers in the Education Policy Context

1
Teachers in the Education Policy Context

• How do we improve both the supply and
  distribution of quality teachers?

2
NCLB High Quality Teachers

• Under No Child Left Behind, all teachers must be
  highly qualified by the end of the 2005-06 school
  year. One of the most important ways to close the
  achievement gap and provide all children with a
  great education is to provide them great
  teachers. Studies have shown the single greatest
  effect on student achievement is teacher quality.
  For this reason, America must remain steadfast in
  meeting the goal of ensuring that every classroom
  has a highly qualified teacher.
• To be "highly qualified," a teacher must (1) hold
  a bachelor's degree, (2) hold a certification or
  licensure to teach in the state of his or her
  employment, and (3) have proven knowledge of the
  subjects he or she teaches.

3
Importance of Teacher Quality

• Rivkin, Hanushek and Kain (2000) attribute at
  least seven percent of the total variance in
  test-score gains to differences in teachers and
  they argue that this is a lower bound. Sanders
  and Rivers (1996) find that the difference
  between attending classes taught by high-quality
  teachers (highest quartile grouping) and
  attending classes taught by low-quality teachers
  (lowest quartile grouping) is huge, approximately
  50 percentile points in the distribution of
  student achievement. They also find residual
  effects of teachers in later years. That is,
  having a high quality teacher in grade three
  increases learning not only in grade three but
  also in grades four and five. (p. 56).1
• 1 Quoted from Hamilton Lankford, Susanna Loeb
  and James Wyckoff (2002) Teacher Sorting and the
  Plight of Urban Schools A Descriptive Analysis.
  Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 24 (1)
  37-62.

4
Importance of Teacher Quality

• Strong evidence suggests that teachers affect
  student learning. (Loeb, p. 100)
• One of the few consistent findings in production
  function research about school inputs is that
  high quality teachers matter.
• Sanders and Rivers (1996) find that the
  difference between attending classes taught by
  high-quality teachers and attending classes
  taught by low-quality teachers for three years
  in a row is huge, approximately 50 percentile
  points in the distribution of student
  achievement. (Loeb, p. 100-101).

From Duncombe, Spring 2003, Seminar 12 Teacher
Labor Markets
5
Emphasis on Quantity
6
NCES, 1997. Americas Teachers Profile of a
Profession, 1 9 9 3 9 4, NCES 97-460.
From Duncombe, Spring 2003, Seminar 12 Teacher
Labor Markets
7
Economic Research on Teacher Qualifications

• Ferguson and Ladd (1996) find that teachers
  performance on standardized tests is associated
  with student outcomes.
• Hanushek (1992), Ehrenberg and Brewer (1995) and
  Coleman et al. (1966) find specifically that
  teachers performance on tests of verbal ability
  are associated with student outcomes.1
• Ferguson (1991, 1998) and Strauss and Sawyer
  (1986) find that teachers own performance on
  teacher licensure exams is positively associated
  with student outcomes.2
• Ehrenberg and Brewer (1994) find that the
  selectivity of the undergraduate institution
  attended by a teacher is associated with student
  outcomes.3
• 1 Ronald G. Ehrenberg and Dominic J. Brewer
  (1995) Did Teachers Verbal Ability and Race
  Matter in the 1960s? Coleman Revisited.
  Economics of Education Review 14 (1) 1-21.
• 2 Ronald Ferguson (1991) Paying for Public
  Education New Evidence on How and Why Money
  Matters. Harvard Journal on Legislation. 28 (2)
  465-498. Ronald Ferguson (1998) Can Schools
  Narrow the Black-White Test Score Gap? In
  Christopher Jencks and Meredith Phillips (eds),
  The Black-White Test Score Gap. Washington, DC
  The Brookings Institution. Robert P. Strauss and
  Elizabeth Sawyer (1986) Some New Evidence on
  Teacher and Student Competencies. Economics of
  Education Review 5 (1) 41-48.
• 3 Ronald G. Ehrenberg and Dominic J. Brewer
  (1994) Do School and Teacher Characteristics
  Matter? Evidence from High School and Beyond.
  Economics of Education Review 13 (1) 1-17.

8
What about Certification?

• In general, research attempting to relate
  teachers certification status with student
  outcomes has been less decisive,1 as has
  research attempting to specifically relate
  National Board Certification (NBC) with student
  outcomes.2
• 1 Dan Goldhaber and Dominic Brewer (2000) Does
  Teacher Certification Matter? High School Teacher
  Certification Status and Student Achievement.
  Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 22 (2)
  129-146. See Linda Darling-Hammond, Barnett Berry
  and Amy Thoreson (2001) Does Teacher
  Certification Matter? Evaluating the Evidence.
  Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 23 (1)
  57-78. Dan Goldhaber and Dominic Brewer (2001)
  Evaluating the Evidence on Teacher Certification
  A Rejoinder. Educational Evaluation and Policy
  Analysis 23 (1) 79 86. Laczko-Kerr, I.,
  Berliner, D.C.. (2002, September 6). The
  effectiveness of "Teach for America" and other
  under-certified teachers on student academic
  achievement A case of harmful public policy,"
  Education Policy Analysis Archives, 10(37).
  Retrieved date from http//epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v10
  n37/.
• 2 J.E. Stone. The Value-Added Achievement Gains
  of NBPTS-Certified Teachers in Tennessee A Brief
  Report. http//www.education-consumers.com/briefs/
  stoneNBPTS.shtmZehr, Mary Ann (2002 October 2)
  ECS Review Discounts Study Critical of Teaching
  Board. Education Week. See also Synthesis of
  Reviews of "The Value-Added Achievement Gains of
  NBPTS-Certified Teachers in Tennessee A Brief
  Report" http//www.ecs.org/ecsmain.asp?page/html/
  special/nbpts/letter.htm

9
The most recent stuff

• Decker, Mayer and Glazerman (2004) in a
  nationwide randomized controlled study, found
  that teachers participating in Teach for America
  yielded greater gains in student mathematics
  achievement than their control group peers.
  Student reading gains were comparable between
  control and TFA teachers.
• TFA participants in the study were more, not less
  (as in the Arizona study) likely to have held
  teaching certificates than their novice teaching
  comparison group, but less likely on average than
  the entire comparison group.
• The most notable difference between TFA
  participants and control group teachers was that
  70 of TFA participants had attended highly or
  most selective undergraduate colleges, compared
  to only 3.7 of their novice teaching peers.1
• 1 Decker, P.T., Mayer, D.P., Glazerman, S.
  (2004) The Effects of Teach for America on
  Students. Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.
  http//www.mathematica-mpr.com/publications/pdfs/t
  each.pdf. Accessed July 8, 2004.

10
Who Teaches?
11
Individual and InstitutionalSAT Scores
? 58
? 42
Data Source Baccalaureate and Beyond, Dan
Goldhaber
12
Who Teaches?
Source Schools and Staffing Survey of 1999
13
Who Stays?

• Those who leave teaching in New York public
  schools altogether are somewhat less likely to
  have failed the certification exams, 60 more
  likely to have received their BA from a most or
  highly competitive college, and somewhat less
  likely to have graduated from the least
  competitive college. (LLW, p. 50)

14
Who Stays?
Among those who scored in the top quarter on
College Entrance Exams, 32 left teaching. Among
those who scored in the bottom quartile, 16
left.
15
Is Teacher Quality Declining?

• Another disturbing trend is the decline in the
  representation of the most academically able
  college graduates. In the 1960s, college
  graduates with IQ scores of 130 were only
  slightly less likely to become teachers than
  graduates with IQ scores of 100. By 1980 a
  college graduate with an IQ score of 100 was more
  than twice as likely to become a teacher than was
  a graduate with a score of 130. Richard Murnane,
  1996. Staffing the Nations Schools with Skilled
  Teachers. in Improving Americas Schools The
  Role of Incentives, E. Hanushek D. Jorgenson
  (eds.). Washington DC National Academy Press. p.
  247.

From Duncombe, Spring 2003, Seminar 12 Teacher
Labor Markets
16
How Does Academic Performance of Prospective
Teachers Compare?

• Strauss et al. (2000) examined the SAT scores of
  high school seniors by intended college major.
• 65 of those taking the SAT test in 1996
  demonstrated greater scholastic aptitude than
  those intending to return to public
  educationHaving classroom teachers with below
  average aptitude levels themselves can easily
  dilute the motivation and achievement level of
  the majority whom they teach, since the majority
  of students in the classroom display stronger
  academic aptitude than their classroom teachers
  did. (p. 395)

From Duncombe, Spring 2003, Seminar 12 Teacher
Labor Markets
17
How Does Academic Performance of Prospective
Teachers Compare?
From Duncombe, Spring 2003, Seminar 12 Teacher
Labor Markets
18
Economic Research on Teacher Salaries Quality

• Murnane and Olson (1989) find that salaries
  affect the decision to enter teaching and the
  duration of the teaching career.1
• Figlio (1997, 2002) and Ferguson (1991) find that
  higher salaries are associated with better
  qualified teachers2
• Loeb and Page (1998, 2000) find that raising
  teacher wages by ten percent reduces high school
  dropout rates by between three and six percent
  and increases college enrollment rates by two
  percent.3
• 1 Richard J. Murnane and Randall Olsen (1989)
  The effects of salaries and opportunity costs on
  length of state in teaching. Evidence from
  Michigan. Review of Economics and Statistics 71
  (2) 347-352
• 2 David N. Figlio (1997) Teacher Salaries and
  Teacher Quality. Economics Letters 55 267-271.
  David N. Figlio (2002) Can Public Schools Buy
  Better-Qualified Teachers? Industrial and Labor
  Relations Review 55, 686-699. Ronald Ferguson
  (1991) Paying for Public Education New Evidence
  on How and Why Money Matters. Harvard Journal on
  Legislation. 28 (2) 465-498.
• 3 Susanna Loeb and Marianne Page (2000)
  Examining the link between teacher wages and
  student outcomes the importance of alternative
  labor market opportunities and non-pecuniary
  variation. Review of Economics and Statistics
  82, 393-408. Susanna Loeb and Marianne Page
  (19980 Examining the link between wages and
  quality in the teacher workforce. Department of
  Economics, University of California, Davis.

19
Teacher and Other Salaries
Source Dan Goldhaber
20
Teacher and Other Salaries
Source AFT Salary Survey 2001, (graph by Dan
Goldhaber)
21
Teacher and Other Salaries
Source AFT Salary Survey 2001, (graph by Dan
Goldhaber)
22
Economic Research on the Distribution of Teachers

• New York State teachers who began their careers
  in 1993 and transfer to a different district or
  quit teaching have stronger qualifications than
  those who remain in the same district. Teachers
  transferring to a different district are half as
  likely to have failed either the NTE General
  Knowledge or NYSTCE Liberal Arts and Science
  certification exam. They are 35 more likely to
  have received their BA from a highly or most
  competitive college and they are about half as
  likely to have received their BA from the least
  competitive colleges. (p. 50)

23
Factors that Influence Distribution
24
Economic Research on the Distribution of Teachers

• Targeted salary increases and/or targeted
  improvements in working conditions are needed to
  draw high-quality teachers to low-performing
  schools and to alleviate the inequities we see in
  the quality of the teacher force across the state
  (NY) and across the country. (p. 1)
• Imazeki (2001) estimates that reducing attrition
  in urban and rural districts to the same levels
  as in an average district would require wage
  increases from fifteen to thirty percent.1
• 1 Jennifer Imazeki (2001) Moving On or Moving
  Out? Determinants of Job and Career Changes for
  Teachers. Working Paper, Department of Economics,
  San Diego State University. P. 30

25
Teacher Recruitment A Case Study of Pennsylvania
(Strauss, et al., 2000)

• Based on survey of 510 school districts.
• Only 49 of districts have written hiring
  policies.
• Only 25 of districts advertise outside of
  Pennsylvania. 17 only advertise in district.
• About 40 of teachers obtained their high school
  diploma or attended high school in district that
  they worked.
• About 1/3 of districts fill full-time openings
  from substitutes or part-time teachers whom they
  already know. (p. 404)
• Most districts spend less than 2 hours with
  teacher candidates prior to hiring them. (p. 412)

From Duncombe, Spring 2003, Seminar 12 Teacher
Labor Markets
26
Results of Recruitment Practices in Pennsylvania
(Strauss et al., 2000)

• Despite oversupply of teachers, districts tend to
  hire teachers from local colleges.
• Teachers produced by these colleges often have
  very low performance on NTE examssometimes
  average performance is below the states already
  very low passing standard.
• Very large variation in NTE scores by type of
  districtcities often hire teachers with
  performance in the bottom one-third nationally on
  NTE.
• Result of hiring locally is a reduction in
  student performance.

From Duncombe, Spring 2003, Seminar 12 Teacher
Labor Markets
27
Do Public Schools Hire the Best Applicants
(Ballou, 1996)

• Based on Surveys of Recent College Graduates
  (NCES) from 1976-1991provide information on
  flow of new graduates into teaching. (p. 100)
  Examined whether public districts recruited
  teachers from selective colleges.
• Applicants from selective colleges are less
  likely to become certified teachers, to apply for
  teaching jobs, and to get hired by districts.
• Dale Ballou, 1996, Do Public Schools Hire the
  Best Applicants. Quarterly Journal of Economics
  11197-133.

From Duncombe, Spring 2003, Seminar 12 Teacher
Labor Markets
28
Do Public Schools Hire the Best Applicants
(Ballou, 1996)

• Estimated regression models of teacher supply and
  district demand.
• To summarize, evidence from the SRCG indicates
  that important indicators of a strong academic
  background and cognitive ability do little to
  improve the prospects of a applicant for a public
  school teaching position. The overall quality of
  the college is at best unimportant, at worst a
  drawbackOnly one measure of academic ability,
  GPA, is positively related to the probability an
  applicant obtains a job. (p. 120)

From Duncombe, Spring 2003, Seminar 12 Teacher
Labor Markets
29
Public, Charter and Private (Independent
Religious) Schools
30
Distribution of Teachers(SASS 99)
31
Certification Status
Public
Public Charter School
32
Certification Status
Catholic
Private Independent
33
Undergraduate Schools
Public
Public Charter
34
Undergraduate Schools
Private Independent
Catholic
35
Salaries
36
Years Teaching
37
Advanced Degrees
38
Dimensions of Labor Market Policy
39
Issues

• Issue 1 Should the teaching profession be more
  highly regulated (National Teaching Standards) or
  de-regulated (certification as a market tool, not
  a requirement)
• Issue 2 How can teacher pay be restructured to
• Increase supply quality
• Keep the right teachers in schools
• Bring the right teachers to schools where they
  are most needed?