Some researchers and teacher groups lash out in response

Every year, thousands of new teachers pass through hundreds of different teacher preparation programs and are hired to teach in the nation's schools. In recent years, "alternative teacher certification" programs have expanded rapidly, offering an increasingly popular route into teaching that differs from that offered by traditional certification programs. Despite the expansion of these new routes into teaching, there exists little research to provide guidance as to the effectiveness of these diverse teacher training strategies.

Mathematica's evaluation of teacher preparation models examined the efficacy of different teacher preparation methods in contributing to students' academic achievement. The study focused on the performance of teachers from two alternative models of teacher preparation—one model with less selective recruiting and substantial coursework requirements, and the other with less selective recruiting and minimal coursework requirements—compared with traditionally prepared teachers teaching in the same schools and grades. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences, the effort extended over a 5 and ½-year period and cost a reported $9 million.

The study found, in part:

• Both the AC and the TC programs with teachers in the study were diverse in the total instruction they required for their candidates.
• While teachers trained in TC programs receive all their instruction (and participate in student teaching) prior to becoming regular full-time teachers, AC teachers do not necessarily begin teaching without having received any formal instruction.
• There were no statistically significant differences between the AC and TC teachers in this study in their average scores on college entrance exams, the selectivity of the college that awarded their bachelor’s degree, or their level of educational attainment.
• There was no statistically significant difference in performance between students of AC teachers and those of TC teachers.
• There is no evidence from this study that greater levels of teacher training coursework were associated with the effectiveness of AC teachers in the classroom.
• There is no evidence that the content of coursework is correlated with teacher effectiveness.

Soon after the release of the report, The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) and others indicated disappointment, citing flaws in the study’s design.

Dr. Sharon Robinson, President and CEO of AACTE, noted that the study provides no information helpful to improving teacher preparation. "It does not change what we already know from the existing body of research that clearly shows that high quality teacher preparation and extended coursework – especially in mathematics – do make a difference in student achievement."

Read an Executive Summary of the Mathematica report…

Read the entire Mathematica report….

Read a report by the AACTE…

Read a response by The Education and the Public Interest Center and the Education Policy Research Unit  (EPIC-EPRU) …