| Summary |
This study analyzed the impact of school poverty levels on variances in elementary math achievement and preparation-based teacher effects. The research was conducted using data from the Gaston County School District, the seventh largest district in North Carolina with over 32,000 students and 2,000 teachers. For this study, math achievement was determined as the mean academic change, or achievement growth, for each class of students assigned to a particular math teacher. Using an Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) this study examined whether significant differences in student math achievement existed when comparing levels of teacher experience, teacher education, and National Board certification. Factorial analyses were utilized in order to determine any effect from school socioeconomic level. Results of this study determined that the impact of teacher experience on student math achievement is significant, influencing 5% of the variance in a student's math achievement growth. The variance in this teacher experience effect was determined to be most significant when comparing teachers with 0-3 years of experience to teachers with 10 or more years of experience. Based on the results of this research, it was concluded that teacher education level has no significant impact on student math achievement. This study also determined that National Board certification does have a significant impact on student math achievement, with a small effect size influencing 3% of the variance in student math achievement. When these same three teacher effects were analyzed along with school socioeconomic levels, there were no interaction effects that were found to be significant. In analyzing main effects in these two-way analyses, the main effect of teacher experience, when crossed in a factorial analysis with school socioeconomic level, was determined to retain its significant impact on student math achievement, with the significant variance focused on the differences between teachers with 0-3 years of teaching experience and teachers with 10 or more years of experience. The main effects of teacher education and school socioeconomic level were determined to have no significant impact on student achievement. The main effect of National Board certification was determined to have no significant impact, while the main effect of school socioeconomic level, when considered crossed with National Board certification, was determined to have an impact on student math achievement. In recognizing teacher experience and National Board certification as significant teacher effects, this research provided the foundation for a compelling educational discussion regarding effective teachers and student learning. In addition, this research has substantiated the belief that significant proportions of variation in student achievement lies within schools rather than between schools. |
