TEACHER EFFECTIVENESS: THE ROLES OF TEACHER CHARACTERISTICS, PREPARATION, AND TURNOVER

After nearly a century of research, scholars are still unable to concretely define the personal and professional characteristics that predict effective teachers. This dissertation contributes to the research base by using a unique dataset that allows the estimation of unbiased effects of teacher characteristics and preparation program on student gains. These estimates provide new evidence that, with quality data, teacher characteristics can predict student gains. The effects of teacher characteristics on student gains are analyzed using data from a Kentucky school district that links teachers to individual students over time. A series of fixed- and between-effects models are used to arrive at unbiased estimates of GPA, math content hours, and math education hours. A similar model is used to estimate the effects of teacher preparation programs on student gains. Results from the empirical models suggest that teachers’ overall GPA is highly predictive of students’ academic gains, although the effects decline as teachers gain experience. The positive effect of math content hours is noteworthy because it does not decrease over time, suggesting the importance of gaining content knowledge during teacher preparation. The data do not permit conclusive results to be drawn regarding the impact of specific teacher preparation programs on student gains, although additional data are being collected in the district that will allow the successful completion of this study in the future. A nationally representative dataset is used to analyze the effects of school workplace conditions on teacher turnover. Results from the logit and multinomial logit models suggest that workplace conditions affect the transition decisions of teachers who switch schools, but not those of teachers who leave the workforce entirely. The findings of this dissertation inform ongoing policy debates that are relevant to stakeholders at all levels of the educational system. The empirical chapter on teacher turnover focused on policy levers that can be influenced at a more local level – workplace conditions. This study also informs the policy debate on pathways to teacher certification.The results of the teacher characteristics demonstrate the value of both content and pedagogical knowledge on student gains

The Value of a College Education: Estimating the Effect of Teacher Preparation on Student Achievement

Federal legislation currently holds institutions of higher education accountable for the quality of teachers that they produce. However research has yet to demonstrate that teacher preparation programs (TPPs) have differential effects on the quality of teachers they produce in terms of student achievement. This study uses data from a sample of 2,582 5th grade math students in an urban school district in Kentucky and a school fixed effects design to explore the variation in average TPP effects. The authors find that TPPs are differentially effective in training teachers, which in turn impacts student performance on 5th grade math scores. There is also some indication that these differential effects converge around teachers’ fifth year of teaching.Student achievement; teacher preparation, teacher effects

Do teacher characteristics matter? New results on the effects of teacher preparation on student achievement

Research fairly consistently demonstrates that teachers are an important measurable factor in student learning, yet few teacher characteristics are shown to be consistently related to student achievement. Using a state administrative dataset that matches individual students to their teachers over time, I find that math teachers' undergraduate performance, as measured by GPA (overall, math, and math education) and course hours (math and math education), is predictive of 5th grade math achievement. The effects of the teacher characteristics are mediated by years of experience and vary according to student types.Resource allocation Teacher preparation

Non-income effects of welfare receipt on early childhood cognitive scores

Child poverty in America has become an enduring part of the social landscape that many families must navigate. As prior research has established that income transfers can affect child outcomes, we focus our attention on the conditions under which these transfers occur. Using panel data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, we examine the non-income effects of TANF participation on children's early cognitive development using methods to address statistical concerns about endogeneity and selection. Our results indicate that participating in TANF is negatively associated with cognitive development. Furthermore, we are able to identify maternal stress as a viable causal pathway between TANF receipt and cognitive development, a result that we are unable to replicate with a falsification test involving the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Our results suggest that the structure of cash transfers may have effects on early childhood outcomes.Early cognitive development Welfare participation Social spending