Students with alternatively certified teachers did no worse on achievement tests than students with traditionally certified teachers¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 2009 · checked against its sources 2026-10-08 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? In a random assignment study, students placed with an alternatively certified teacher showed no statistically significant difference in reading or math achievement compared with students whose teacher came through the traditional route. → Jill Constantine 2009

Evidence¶

Jill Constantine 2009¶

Jill Constantine, Daniel Player, Tim Silva, Kristin Hallgren, Mary Grider, John Deke. (2009). An Evaluation of Teachers Trained Through Different Routes to Certification. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. https://ies.ed.gov/ncee

q3 · i? · causal · r2

Mathematica's random assignment study of alternative routes to teacher certification tracked 2,600 students in 63 schools in 20 medium and large school districts in 7 states during the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 school years. The study "found no statistically significant difference in reading or math achievement" between the two teacher routes.

"Researchers found no statistically significant difference in reading or math achievement for students placed in a classroom with traditionally or alternatively certified teachers."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• In some cases, Teach For America and Teaching Fellows secondary math teachers are more effective than traditionally certified math teachers — related
• Students of alternatively certified teachers taking coursework while teaching scored lower in math than students of traditionally certified counterparts — reports the opposite
• Secondary math teachers from Teach For America and the Teaching Fellows programs are as effective as teachers receiving traditional certification — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• A randomized controlled trial found TFA secondary math teachers outperformed non-TFA comparison teachers in mathematics achievement — related
• An elementary-school RCT found no statistically significant difference between TFA and non-TFA teachers in mathematics or reading achievement — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Alternative and traditionally certified teachers were similar on academic credentials but differed in race, education major, concurrent coursework, and first-year mentoring — related
• TFA teachers have positive effects on mathematics achievement for students in grades pre-K-12, based on six studies — related
• Prior experimental studies of TFA consistently showed a positive, statistically significant effect on student math achievement but no discernable effect on reading — related
• TFA shows a small positive effect on reading for early elementary students (PreK to grade 2) but not in math — related
• Despite rapid expansion of alternative routes into teaching, little research exists to guide judgments about the effectiveness of different teacher training strategies — related
• Elementary students taught by teachers from less selective alternative routes had test scores similar to peers taught by traditional-route teachers — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Secondary math students taught by Teaching Fellows teachers had test scores similar to peers taught by traditional-route teachers — related
• Within-school random assignment studies such as the TFA evaluation are challenging but may be feasible and generate useful evidence — related
• An evaluation study compares teachers trained through different routes to certification — a broader claim this one bears on
• Students of ABCTE teachers scored lower than students of non-ABCTE teachers on the Florida state math test — related
• Students of ABCTE-certified teachers and non-ABCTE teachers show no difference in reading achievement gains in Florida — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Alternative certification programs grew to account for about one-third of all new teachers certified annually in the United States — related
• Students of TFA teachers did not perform significantly differently from students of other under-certified teachers — related
• Students of under-certified teachers made about 20% less academic growth per year than students of regularly certified teachers — reports the opposite
• Little is known about teachers certified through alternative certification programs and their experiences after certification — related