Are teachers the most important factor?
I spent all day yesterday editing a summary of the research on teacher effectiveness, the first point of which was that this is not true:
“The idea, aggressively embraced by the Obama administration, is as straightforward as it is controversial: that teachers are the main factor in student growth—more than poverty, parents, curriculum, principals or other circumstances.”
This is a graf in the Washington Post piece I recommended yesterday on D.C.’s teacher evaluation system, and I am not sure how I missed the error, but I wanted to point it out now. Researchers concur that the bulk of student achievement differences can actually be attributed to factors outside school, such as poverty and parents. People writing articles and speeches have recently picked up on this and made sure to qualify the assertion with something like “in-school.”
But of the factors inside school that have been studied, are teachers the main factor? Sorting through the evidence on this is not easy. Many are comfortable saying that of the in-school factors studied, teachers are the main one. Others are not comfortable with that assessment because some research shows that teacher effectiveness only accounts for a small share of student differences, while other factors have not been studied with as much rigor.
Soon we will be putting out a paper that helps you put the research, and the rhetoric, in context.
“The idea, aggressively embraced by the Obama administration, is as straightforward as it is controversial: that teachers are the main factor in student growth—more than poverty, parents, curriculum, principals or other circumstances.”
This is a graf in the Washington Post piece I recommended yesterday on D.C.’s teacher evaluation system, and I am not sure how I missed the error, but I wanted to point it out now. Researchers concur that the bulk of student achievement differences can actually be attributed to factors outside school, such as poverty and parents. People writing articles and speeches have recently picked up on this and made sure to qualify the assertion with something like “in-school.”
But of the factors inside school that have been studied, are teachers the main factor? Sorting through the evidence on this is not easy. Many are comfortable saying that of the in-school factors studied, teachers are the main one. Others are not comfortable with that assessment because some research shows that teacher effectiveness only accounts for a small share of student differences, while other factors have not been studied with as much rigor.
Soon we will be putting out a paper that helps you put the research, and the rhetoric, in context.
Labels: teacher_evaluation, teacher_evaluations
posted by Linda Perlstein at
11:43 AM
4 Comments:
We reviewed the literature here, also opening with a misleading Obama Administration quote, here: http://shankerblog.org/?p=74
The Administration (and others) seems to find clever ways to be technically correct but semantically misleading. From their "blueprint:"
"Of all the work that occurs at every level of our education system, the interaction between teacher and student is the primary determinant of student success."
By "every level of our education system," they presumably mean in-school factors, but that is not clear to the average reader. That may be why we end up with statements such as the one you quoted.
I missed the paragraph even after reading about it. the reason is that it a the obligatory sumery of the Administration's false claim. Whether it is Obama on education or Bush on Iraq, how often should reporters provide a fact-checker alert? Obviously, nobody has that figured out.
The more important question for that article was whether the evaluator held that innacurate view of teacher effectivenss, and the article leaves that issue murky:
The teacher being evaluated "said that all children do not learn equally and that “our children, especially, don’t learn equally.”
Bethel nodded. “I hear what you’re saying,” he said.
But the truth was he did not agree. From what Bethel had observed, the kids were simply confused, not unable to add."
The journalist did he job well and did not jump conclusions. It seems unlikely that the same can be said of IMPACT evaluators.
This is really strange to me: According to his interviews, speeches and books, President Obama seems to understand that the education of the child depends heavily on the family. In the March 2010 issue of Essence magazine, he had this to say in regard to the critical importance of the parents:
"It remains absolutely true that you can have all the money in the world, you can have the fanciest classrooms in the world, the best computers in the world, nicest textbooks in the world, but you are not going to succeed if parents aren't instilling in their child at a very early age -"We are going to set high standards for you. I'm going to check that you do your homework. I'm going to [be involved in all aspects of your education]." He concludes with this gem of wisdom:
"I know in my own life it's only because I was pushed and prodded by my folks that I was able to succeed."
In this article the president seems to be saying that children can ONLY succeed when parents are involved. Why then would his administration take a position almost completely opposite of this? I'd really like to know. Strange.
What I find interesting about the constant reference to teachers as the most powerful in-school factor in student achievement is just how remarkably shallow such an assessment is. Teachers are the most powerful simply because that is with whom students spent the most of their time. However, if we think a little deeper into what a school environment is like, it doesn't take much to recognize that great schooling is much more than individual teachers--it is the school environment and culture. That can only be fostered and sustained through great leadership. Teachers need a good administration in order for their students to achieve. Why is this critical factor never mentioned?
Post a Comment
Considerate comments are welcome. Uncivil remarks will be deleted. Anonymous comments -- including those unaccompanied by the author's first and last name -- are not permitted.
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home