A randomized controlled trial found TFA secondary math teachers outperformed non-TFA comparison teachers in mathematics achievement¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · reviewr3·q3
Currency · newest study 2016 · checked against its sources 2026-10-08 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q3 i? In the Clark et al. (2013) randomized controlled trial, students assigned to TFA math teachers scored significantly higher than students assigned to non-TFA comparison teachers in the same schools. → Teach For America 2016
Evidence¶
Teach For America 2016¶
Teach For America. (2016). WWC Intervention Report: Teach For America. What Works Clearinghouse, U.S. Department of Education. https://www.teachforamerica.org
q3 · i? · review · r3
This RCT randomly assigned students in 45 secondary schools to a math class taught by a TFA teacher or a similar class taught by a non-TFA teacher; the analytic sample included 4,573 students. The report states: "The authors reported, and the WWC confirmed, a positive and statistically significant difference between the TFA group and the comparison group", with an average improvement index of +3.
"The authors reported, and the WWC confirmed, a positive and statistically significant difference between the TFA group and the comparison group."
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- An elementary-school RCT found no statistically significant difference between TFA and non-TFA teachers in mathematics or reading achievement — related
- A lottery-based randomized controlled trial of KIPP middle schools found statistically significant positive effects on state math and reading tests — related
- TFA teachers have positive effects on mathematics achievement for students in grades pre-K-12, based on six studies — a broader claim this one bears on
- This is the first large-scale experimental study of secondary math teachers from Teach For America — related
- TFA teachers in their first two years of teaching are more effective than more experienced non-TFA teachers in the same schools — related
- Secondary math teachers from Teach For America and the Teaching Fellows programs are as effective as teachers receiving traditional certification — reports the opposite
- In some cases, Teach For America and Teaching Fellows secondary math teachers are more effective than traditionally certified math teachers — a broader claim this one bears on
- Students with alternatively certified teachers did no worse on achievement tests than students with traditionally certified teachers — related
- Teaching by first- or second-year TFA corps members shows no significant effect on elementary-grade students' reading compared with non-TFA novice teachers — related
- Prior experimental studies of TFA consistently showed a positive, statistically significant effect on student math achievement but no discernable effect on reading — a broader claim this one bears on
- The findings contradict claims that alternative teacher preparation programs such as Teach For America harm students — a broader claim this one bears on
- Teach For America teachers had no impact on student reading achievement — related
- Teach For America teachers had a positive impact on student math achievement of about 15 percent of a standard deviation, equivalent to about one month of instruction — possibly the same claim (merge candidate)
- A program is said to have an effect when the difference between program and non-program groups is statistically significant — a broader claim this one bears on
- TFA corps members hired in the first two years of the i3 scale-up were as effective as other teachers in the same high-poverty schools in teaching reading and math — related
- Under the i3 scale-up grant, TFA planned to grow its corps by 80 percent and aimed for a majority of its teachers to be rated highly effective by the 2014-2015 school year — related
- Secondary math students taught by Teaching Fellows teachers had test scores similar to peers taught by traditional-route teachers — related
- Secondary math students taught by Teach For America teachers outperformed peers taught by traditional-route teachers by 0.06 standard deviations — related
- Within-school random assignment studies such as the TFA evaluation are challenging but may be feasible and generate useful evidence — related
- The authors propose creating America's Teacher Corps through federal legislation to recognize highly effective K-12 public school teachers — related
- Students of certified teachers outperformed students of under-certified teachers, including TFA teachers, on all three SAT-9 subtests in low-income districts — reports the opposite
- Students of TFA teachers did not perform significantly differently from students of other under-certified teachers — reports the opposite
- Study designs that randomly assign students within schools involve trade-offs, illustrated by the Teach For America evaluation experience — related
- TFA teachers in grades 1 and 2 had a positive effect on math achievement of 0.16 standard deviations that was almost statistically significant (p-value = 0.054) — related
- TFA teachers show potentially positive effects on science achievement, based on one study — related
- Teach For America teachers had no impacts on other outcomes such as attendance, promotion, or disciplinary incidents — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
clark-2013-tfa-secondary-math-rct-positive |
title |
A randomized controlled trial found TFA secondary math teachers outperformed non-TFA comparison teachers in mathematics achievement |
description |
A randomized controlled trial found TFA secondary math teachers outperformed non-TFA comparison teachers in mathematics achievement |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
moderate |
newest_evidence |
2016 |
source_checked |
2026-10-08 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-07 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — teach-for-america-2016 |
Frontmatter is the page's machine-readable record — see the Schema & Guide.