Human Capital Policies in Education: Further Research on Teachers and Principals

Human Capital Policies in Education: Further Research on Teachers and Principals

5rd Annual CALDER ConferenceJanuary 27th, 2012

Certification Requirements and Teacher Quality: A

Comparison of Alternative Routes to Teaching

Tim R. Sass

Department of Economics

Georgia State University

Pathways to Teaching Traditional Pathway

Complete a university-based teacher preparation program

Pass a set of certification exams Alternative Pathways

Earn bachelors degree Limited or no prior education coursework required

May be required to complete some alternative training, often web based

Pass certification exams May have to take some education courses after begin

teaching

Economics of Professional Licensure

Public Interest View Consumers ill-informed Regulation imposes minimum quality standard which indirectly

provides informationAvoids “lemons problem” where only low quality is provided

Capture View Professionals lobby for strong licensure standards to limit entry Minimum educational requirement may actually keep out most

talented potential entrants by differentially raising cost to those with highest opportunity cost

Prior Research on Alternative Certification

Quasi-Experimental Evidence Boyd, et al. (2006); Kane, Rockoff and Staiger (2006)

Analyze “Teacher for America” (TFA) and NYC Teaching Fellows programs

Both require teachers work toward education degree after initial employment

Fellows initially equally effective in math and less effective than traditional-route teachers in ELA, but close gap over time

TFA teachers more effective in math initially, particularly at the middle school level

Xu, Hannaway and Taylor (2011) analyze effectiveness of TFA teachers in North Carolina high schools TFA teachers more effective on average over all subjects,

biggest difference in science and math

Prior Research on Alternative Certification Experimental Evidence

Glazerman, Mayer and Decker (2006) Compare TFA and traditionally prepared teachers teaching in

same school and grade with random assignment of students Find TFA teachers outperform traditionally prepared teachers

in math, but no significant difference in reading Constantine, at al. (2009)

Analyze effectiveness of teachers from less selective alternative certification programs using same paired design as Glazerman, Mayer and Decker

Found no difference in effectiveness between alternatively certified and traditionally prepared teachers

Alternatively certified teachers had significant coursework in education

Pathways to Teaching in Florida Florida Teacher Preparation Program Graduate District Alternative Certification Program

No special recruitment procedures No formal education coursework required Must complete competency-based alternative certification program and

pass certification exams Course Analysis

Requires handful of core education courses May be an education minor or not part of any formal program

Out-of-state Teacher Preparation Program Graduate Certified in Another State ABCTE Passport Educator Preparation Institutes

Two-semester program at community colleges College Teaching Experience

Pathways of First-Year Teachers by Certification Type, 2000/01-2006/07

Select Characteristics of Teachers by Specific Pathway(Teachers with Any Certification)

Traditional Teacher Prep. in

FL(n=17392)

Course Analysis

(n=30052)

Certified in Another

State(n=12827)

Teacher Prep.

Outside FL

(n=6016)

District Alternative

Cert.(n=1473)

Educator Prep

Institute(n=206)

ABCTE(n=96)

College Teaching

Experience(n=55)

% from Most Competitive Colleges

13.9 19.2* 7.8* 7.5* 22.9* 22.3* 22.5 35.8*

% from Least Competitive Colleges

19.6 16.0* 21.3* 23.3* 13.5* 14.4* 18.0 9.4*

% Pass GK Math 1st Try 66.3 64.5* 55.9* 76.4* 77.2* 97.7 61.5

% Pass GK Reading 1st Try 80.3 81.8* 71.8* 91.0* 92.6* 100.0 69.2

% Pass GK English 1st Try 81.6 82.0 74.0* 92.1* 95.7* 100.0 61.5

% Pass GK Essay 1st Try 91.1 88.0* 72.7* 92.6 93.1 97.6 100.0*

% Non-White 31.6 31.6 16.7* 26.9* 26.3* 18.9* 18.8* 32.7

% Male 13.4 23.0* 18.8* 22.6* 31.4* 27.2* 35.4* 47.3*

Average SAT Score 937 955* 1029* 1029* 1096*

Select Characteristics of Teachers by Specific Pathway(Teachers with Elementary Certification)

Traditional Teacher Prep. in

FL(n=9707)

Course Analysis

(n=11011)

Certified in Another

State(n=5876)

Teacher Prep.

Outside FL

(n=2554)

District Alternative

Cert.(n=189)

Educator Prep

Institute(n=31)

ABCTE(n=19)

College Teaching

Experience(n=11)

% from Most Competitive Colleges

11.0 16.5* 6.9* 6.7* 25.7* 24.0

% from Least Competitive Colleges

21.7 18.1* 21.9 24.6 12.3* 16.0

% Pass GK Math 1st Try 62.3 62.2 56.1* 78.0* 69.2

% Pass GK Reading 1st Try 78.9 80.0 76.9 91.2* 92.3*

% Pass GK English 1st Try 79.9 79.8 78.7 95.6* 88.5

% Pass GK Essay 1st Try 90.8 89.0* 78.1* 94.4* 92.3

% Non-White 30.4 28.4* 16.4* 22.7* 18.0* 16.1*

% Male 7.1 8.8* 9.7* 10.4* 9.5 16.1

Average SAT Score 928 941* 966 979

Major of First Bachelor’s Degree by Pathway and Certification Area

First Modal Major of Bachelor’s Degree

Path of EntryAll Cert. Elementary Ed.

Middle School Math High School Math Biology

Traditional Teacher Prep. in FL

Elem. Ed. Elem. Ed. Elem. Ed. Math Ed Science Ed

Course AnalysisElem. Ed. Elem. Ed. Elem. Ed. Math Ed Biology

Certified in Another State

Elem. Ed. Elem. Ed. Elem. Ed. Math Ed Science Ed

Teacher Prep. Outside FL

Elem. Ed. Elem. Ed. Journalism Elem. Ed.

District Alternative Cert.

English Lang. & Lit.

Business Admin Criminal Justice Mathematics Biology

Educator Preparation Institute

Communications Business Admin Business Admin Health Professions Food Sciences & Technology

ABCTEEnglish Lang. &

Lit.Political Science Finance Biology

College Teaching Experience

Elem. Ed. Elem. Ed. Business Admin Business Admin Food Sciences & Technology

Coursework Credit Hours(All Certifications)

All Education Courses

Ed. Field Courses

Math Ed.

Science Ed.

Language Arts Ed.

Non-Ed. Math

Non-Ed. Science

Non-Ed. English Lit.

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

ABCTE Educator Prep. InstituteDistrict Alt. Cert. Florida Teacher Prep

Value-Added Analysis of Pathway Effects: Data Achievement Tests

“Sunshine State Standards” Test (SSS) Stanford Achievement Test (NRT) Reading and Math for each test

Test Scaling Each test score normed by grade and year

Coverage 2000/01 – 2006/07 Grades 3-10

Classes 10-50 students

Students Only students taking a single math or reading/language arts course Special education students omitted

Value-Added Analysis of Pathway Effects: Model

itmki

ktijmtititit AA

Zβ

TβPβXβ

5

432110

where A=student achievement

X = time varying student/family inputs

P = classroom peer characteristics

T = time varying teacher characteristics

g = student “fixed effect”

Z = time invariant teacher characteristics

f = school “fixed effect”

indices: individuals (i), classrooms (j), teachers (k), schools (m)

and time (t).

Impact of Teacher Pathways on Student Achievement in Math and Reading, 2000/01-2006/070-2 Years Experience, Grades 4-10

Math Reading

Alternative Certification

0.0072 (0.0037)

-0.0013 (0.0040)

0.0023 (0.0051)

0.0026 (0.0031)

-0.0026 (0.0037)

-0.0098 (0.0050)

-0.0013 (0.0014)

-0.0041(0.0010)

Educator Prep. Inst.

- 0.0342 (0.0089)

-0.0268 (0.0117)

-0.0437 (0.0031)

-0.0431 (0.0012)

-0.0026 (0.0059)

-0.0237 (0.0039)

-0.0248 (0.0028)

-0.0421(0.0009)

ABCTE0.1041

(0.0089)0.0634

(0.0058)0.1146

(0.0050)0.0869

(0.0026) 0.0087

(0.0019) -0.0103 (0.0136)

0.0110 (0.0022)

0.0003(0.0012)

Exam SSS NRT SSS NRT SSS NRT SSS NRT

Persistence Partial Partial Partial Partial Partial Partial Partial Partial

Student FE No No No No No No No No

School FE Yes Yes No No Yes Yes No No

Clustered standard errors (in parenthesis) : = signif. at 10 pct. = signif. at 5 pct. = signif. at 1 pct.

.

Impact of Teacher Pathways on Student Achievement in Math and Reading, 2000/01-2006/070-2 Years of Experience, Grades 4-10

Math Reading


0.0017 (0.0028)

0.0014 (0.0033)

- 0.0002 (0.0067)

-0.0050 (0.0069)

-0.0042 (0.0111)

-0.0074 (0.0123)

0.0042 (0.0060)

-0.0022(0.0121)


-0.0071 (0.0218)

-0.0199 (0.0453)

-0.0215 (0.0250)

-0.0305 (0.0359)

0.0441 (0.0334)

0.0197 (0.0413)

0.0182 (0.0167)

-0.0021(0.0426)

ABCTE0.1179

(0.0394)0.0236

(0.0391)0.1141

(0.0289)0.0539

(0.0289)-0.0174(0.0205)

-0.0261(0.0449)

-0.0097(0.0106)

-0.0087(0.0209)



Student FE Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes


Clustered standard errors (in parenthesis) : = signif. at 10 pct. = signif. at 5 pct. = signif. at 1 pct.

.

Impact of Teacher Pathways on Student Achievement in Math and Reading, 2000/01-2006/070-2 Years of Experience, Grades 6-10

Math Reading


0.0019 (0.0021)

-0.0087 (0.0024)

-0.0049 (0.0051)

-0.0080 (0.0020)

-0.0033 (0.0037)

-0.0101 (0.0051)

-0.0048 (0.0007)

-0.0086(0.0005)


-0.0483 (0.0121)

-0.0403 (0.0137)

-0.0625 (0.0014)

-0.0601 (0.0007)

-0.0051 (0.0059)

-0.0249 (0.0061)

-0.0287 (0.0006)

-0.0491(0.0009)

ABCTE0.0949

(0.0157)0.0723

(0.0061)0.0901

(0.0024)0.0768

(0.0025)0.0007

(0.0019)-0.0133(0.0165)

0.0001(0.0023)

-0.0059(0.0012)



Student FE No No No No No No No NO


Unadjusted standard errors (in parenthesis) : = signif. at 10 pct. = signif. at 5 pct. = signif. at 1 pct.

Summary of Findings

Characteristics of Alternatively Certified Teachers in Florida (Compared to Traditionally Prepared Teachers) Come from more competitive universities Have higher certification test pass rates Have higher SAT scores Are less likely to be minorities Are more likely to be male

Summary of Findings

Majors Modal major of alternatively certified teachers is English Alternatively certified high school math and science teachers tend to

have major in content area (rather than math ed. or science ed.) Coursework

Traditionally prepared teachers average over 60 credits in education courses, alternatively certified teachers average less than four credits in education

Traditionally prepared teachers take about the same number of math courses, but fewer science courses than alternatively certified teachers Traditionally prepared teachers partly compensate by taking more

science education courses

Summary of Findings

Relative Effectiveness in Promoting Student Achievement In most cases ABCTE teachers have higher value-added than

traditionally prepared teachers Differences are sometimes large (~10% of a standard deviation)

In most cases no difference between traditionally prepared and district alternatively certified teachers

EPI teacher tend to perform worse than traditionally prepared teachers Only first cohort of EPI teachers in sample

Policy Implications

Must be Careful Not to Lump all Alternative Certification Programs Together When Making Policy Judgments

Lowering entry cost, but still requiring substantial non-transferrable coursework may be counter-productive Possible adverse selection

Very-Low-Cost Entryway Into Teaching Appears to be Beneficial, Particularly for Middle and High School Better content preparation appears to trump pedagogical

knowledge

Human Capital Policies in Education: Further Research on Teachers and Principals

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