TFA teachers in their first two years of teaching are more effective than more experienced non-TFA teachers in the same schools¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r? · q3
Currency · newest study 2014 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? Addressing concerns about TFA's two-year commitment, the study finds first-two-year TFA teachers more effective than more experienced non-TFA teachers in the same schools. → Hanley S. Chiang 2014

Evidence¶

Hanley S. Chiang 2014¶

Hanley S. Chiang, Melissa A. Clark, Sheena McConnell. (2014). Supplying Disadvantaged Schools with Effective Teachers: Experimental Evidence on Secondary Math Teachers from Teach For America. Princeton, NJ: Mathematica Policy Research. https://www.mathematica.org/publications/supplying-disadvantaged-schools-with-effective-teachers-experimental-evidence-on-secondary-math

q3 · i? · causal · r?

The experimental study compares early-career TFA teachers with more experienced non-TFA teachers in the same schools and finds TFA teachers in their "first two years of teaching are more effective than more experienced non-TFA teachers." No effect size for this comparison is printed on the page.

"Addressing concerns about the fact that TFA requires only a two-year commitment, we find that TFA teachers in their first two years of teaching are more effective than more experienced non-TFA teachers in the same schools."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• An elementary-school RCT found no statistically significant difference between TFA and non-TFA teachers in mathematics or reading achievement — reports the opposite
• 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
• TFA secondary math teachers increase student math achievement by 0.07 standard deviations over one school year relative to other math teachers in the same schools — related
• A randomized controlled trial found TFA secondary math teachers outperformed non-TFA comparison teachers in mathematics achievement — related
• This is the first large-scale experimental study of secondary math teachers from Teach For America — 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
• TFA shows a small positive effect on reading for early elementary students (PreK to grade 2) but not in math — related
• 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
• First- and second-year teachers' students gain roughly 20 percent of a standard deviation less than students of more experienced teachers