Researchers at NIET and elsewhere have studied the effectiveness of TAP: The System for Teacher a... more Researchers at NIET and elsewhere have studied the effectiveness of TAP: The System for Teacher and Student Advancement in raising student achievement, improving the quality of instruction, and increasing the ability of high-need schools to recruit, retain and support effective teachers. This document describes some of the most recent results that have emerged from the research on the TAP System to date. Data collection and analysis efforts are ongoing, and the findings described here will be updated periodically as information becomes available. NIET Mission.
Background for the Review In many cultures, the oldest form of teaching was provided to children ... more Background for the Review In many cultures, the oldest form of teaching was provided to children by in-home tutors or private instructors (Shanahan, 1998). Tutoring remains a popular form of instruction worldwide, and the effectiveness of tutoring as a pedagogical method has been documented extensively in various strands of the educational literature (see, for example, Cohen, Kulik, & Kulik, 1982, and Wasik & Slavin, 1993). During the 1970s, U.S. schools began relying more on peer tutoring (also known as student-tostudent or cross-age tutoring) as a way to efficiently use scarce resources in a period of teacher shortages (Rekrut, 1994). The next two decades also witnessed an increased interest in tutoring programs staffed by adult volunteers for a variety of reasons: (1) increased public concern with the quality of education after the U.S. Department of Education's release of "A Nation at Risk" in 1983; (2) rising interest in community service in the 1990s, and (3) the encouraging results from effective yet costly programs that employ professional tutors. By 1987, the National Research Council estimated that there were over one million volunteer tutors who donated an average of four hours per week in the nation's public schools. The survey found that threefourths of public elementary schools in the United States reported the involvement of volunteers, with each school having an average of 24 volunteers (Michael, 1990). This heightened interest in volunteerism may be most evident at institutions of higher education around the nation, many of which have entered into tutoring partnerships with nearby school districts, particularly those in the inner-city. During the 1987-1988 school year, the U.S. Department of Education sponsored a survey to identify college-sponsored programs that used college students as tutors or mentors for preschool, elementary, or secondary students. The survey found that nearly one-third (29%) of all colleges or universities hosted a program of this type, with over 70,000 college students serving 240,000 K-12 students in over 1,000 schools (Cahalan & Farris, 1990). In two-thirds of these programs, tutoring was the primary focus.
The Effectiveness of Volunteer Tutoring Programs for Elementary and Middle School Students: A Meta-Analysis
This meta-analysis assesses the effectiveness of volunteer tutoring programs for improving the ac... more This meta-analysis assesses the effectiveness of volunteer tutoring programs for improving the academic skills of students enrolled in public schools Grades K–8 in the United States and further investigates for whom and under what conditions tutoring can be effective. The authors found 21 studies (with 28 different study cohorts in those studies) reporting on randomized field trials to guide them in assessing the effectiveness of volunteer tutoring programs. Overall, the authors found volunteer tutoring has a positive effect on student achievement. With respect to particular subskills, students who work with volunteer tutors are likely to earn higher scores on assessments related to letters and words, oral fluency, and writing as compared to their peers who are not tutored.
Each year teacher turnover presents instructional, organizational, and financial burdens that imp... more Each year teacher turnover presents instructional, organizational, and financial burdens that impact students, teachers, schools, and communities. High levels of teacher turnover drain valuable resources and make it difficult to build a high performing, stable teaching faculty. This is particularly true in high need schools where teacher attrition levels are higher than average. Efforts to understand why teachers leave and the associated impacts with such turnover are important and ongoing. This paper examines the impact of one model affecting hundreds of schools nationwide and the associated impacts on retention. TAP TM : The System for Teacher and Student Advancement was launched in 1999 as a comprehensive educator effectiveness model that offers career advancement and leadership opportunities for educators, as well as an evaluation process that is linked to job-embedded professional development and performance-based compensation. The TAP System focuses on developing human capital...
Teachers College Record: The Voice of Scholarship in Education
Background Via the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA), stronger accountability pro... more Background Via the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA), stronger accountability proponents are now knocking on the doors of the colleges of education that prepare teachers and, many argue, prepare teachers ineffectively. This is raising questions about how effective and necessary teacher education programs indeed are. While research continues to evidence that teachers have a large impact on student achievement, the examination of teacher education programs is a rational backward mapping of understanding how teachers impact students. Nonetheless, whether and how evaluations of teacher education programs should be conducted is yet another hotly debated issue in the profession. Purpose The purpose of this project is to describe how one of the largest teacher education programs in the nation has taken a lead position toward evaluating itself, and has begun to take responsibility for its impact on the public school system. This research also presents the process of establis...
Since 2010, there has been much policy activity on teacher evaluation. Many education policy make... more Since 2010, there has been much policy activity on teacher evaluation. Many education policy makers have embraced the idea that improved teacher evaluation can cultivate genuine improvements in the teaching force and improved student outcomes. Can genuine evaluation actually enhance the effectiveness of those evaluated? Using structured interviews with educators and policy makers in five states, the authors find that rigorous evaluations can provide a focus for professional development and that the feedback from evaluations can encourage self-reflection and meaningful conversations focused on classroom practice among educators. Moreover, the data suggest that educators are open to such evaluations when certain key conditions are met in schools.
New Tools for Developing, Promoting and Measuring Instructional Leadership in Public School Principals
Policymakers across the globe are actively seeking reforms that lead to improved student performa... more Policymakers across the globe are actively seeking reforms that lead to improved student performance. One reform gaining momentum is the usage of merit pay for educators who are able to increase performance on standardized measures. However, educators’ voices are often missing from the discussion, as policies are put onto them rather than determined with them. The present paper examines the historical landscape in one country, infuses the growing international literature on merit pay into the conversation, and makes recommendations for those considering the inclusion or creation of such pay for performance models and how educators can help shape the policies.
Merit Pay Programs for Improving Teacher Retention, Teacher Satisfaction, and Student Achievement in Primary and Secondary Education: A Systematic Review
It Might Just Take a Partnership
Traditional colleges of teacher education are now being required to define themselves in new ways... more Traditional colleges of teacher education are now being required to define themselves in new ways. In this article, the authors describe the status of education in Arizona and offer a solution that is not found in the next wave of innovation, but rather the successful application of centuries old wisdom – the recognition that we cannot solve social problems individually, but rather collectively, via educational partnerships. Authors survey the needs of their 13 high-needs, district partners across the state to engage in more mutual and respectful educational partnerships, ultimately to help them better help their students. District partners’ collective and individualized needs are presented herein as are the broader implications drawn from the results.
Background: Via the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA), stronger accountability pr... more Background: Via the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA), stronger accountability proponents are now knocking on the doors of the colleges of education that prepare teachers and, many argue, prepare teachers ineffectively. This is raising questions about how effective and necessary teacher education programs indeed are. While research continues to evidence that teachers have a large impact on student achievement, the examination of teacher education programs is a rational backward mapping of understanding how teachers impact students. Nonetheless, whether and how evaluations of teacher education programs should be conducted is yet another hotly debated issue in the profession. Purpose: The purpose of this project is to describe how one of the largest teacher education programs in the nation has taken a lead position toward evaluating itself, and has begun to take responsibility for its impact on the public school system. This research also presents the process of establishing a self-evaluation initiative across the state of Arizona and provides a roadmap for how other colleges and universities might begin a similar process.
Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability, 2012
Over the previous two decades, the era of accountability has amplified efforts to measure educati... more Over the previous two decades, the era of accountability has amplified efforts to measure educational effectiveness more than Edward Thorndike, the father of educational measurement, likely would have imagined. Expressly, the measurement structure for evaluating educational effectiveness continues to rely increasingly on one sole indicatorperformance on state-endorsed, large-scaled testsand the use of these test scores in isolation of other indicators that also capture what it means to be effective. This manuscript describes unresolved questions in educational measurement and provides recommendations to increase measurement validity along both quantitative and qualitative dimensions to move towards a more holistic and appropriate system of measuring educational effectiveness. As Thorndike would have put it, we shall be aided, not hindered, by these tests.
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