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¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r? · q3 · i0 negligible
Currency · newest study 2006 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i0 In a randomized experiment, students taught by TFA teachers scored higher in math achievement than students taught by comparison teachers, with an impact of about 15 percent of a standard deviation. → Steven Glazerman 2006

Evidence¶

Steven Glazerman 2006¶

Steven Glazerman, Daniel Mayer, Paul Decker. (2006). Alternative Routes to Teaching: The Impacts of Teach For America on Student Achievement and Other Outcomes. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, vol. 25, no. 1. https://www.mathematica.org/publications/alternative-routes-to-teaching-the-impacts-of-teach-for-america-on-student-achievement-and-other-outcomes doi:10.1002/pam.20157

q3 · i0 · causal · r?

Randomized experiment studying the impact of Teach For America on student achievement and other outcomes (2001-2004). The study finds "TFA teachers had a positive impact on math achievement" with a printed effect size of "about 15 percent of a standard deviation, equivalent to about one month of instruction."

"TFA teachers had a positive impact on math achievement and no impact on reading achievement. The size of the impact on math achievement was about 15 percent of a standard deviation, equivalent to about one month of instruction."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• 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
• 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 — possibly the same claim (merge candidate)
• Teach For America teachers had no impacts on other outcomes such as attendance, promotion, or disciplinary incidents — related
• Secondary math students taught by Teach For America teachers outperformed peers taught by traditional-route teachers by 0.06 standard deviations — 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
• TFA teachers in lower elementary grades (prekindergarten through grade 2) had a positive, statistically significant effect on reading achievement of 0.12 standard deviations — 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) — possibly the same claim (merge candidate)