Friday, September 20, 2013
Teach For America Effectiveness
Today I read an article about a recent study that measured the effectivness of Teach For America by comparing student's math scores on achievement tests for students taking secondary math in the same math courses and in the same schools as each other. The report concluded that Teach For America math teachers were better than regualr teachers. (Details can be found at http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20130920/BIZ/709209939/Report-validates-Teach-for-America%26%23146s-effectiveness). I personally think more should be looked at than just the test score to make that conclusion, but I do believe the results are very important. One of the biggest problems people seem to have with Teach For America is the short training period before entering the classroom. For this study, it didnt matter whether or not the regular teachers had a lot of experience or came from a selective certification programs; the Teach For America teachers were still more effective. I don't think people should take these results as a sign that Teach For America is the PERFECT path for all future teachers, but I do believe it is encouraging to know how well the program is doing. I personally am interested in TFA after our class discussion on Wednesday. I knew nothing about TFA going in but I think it is something people should consider and join for the right reasons. I want to believe those who apply to TFA are enthusiastic about what they are going to bring to these types of classrooms and are ready to face challenges with fresh ideas, because they have no other experiences to go off of. Some may see this as a negative, but I think it can be a positive approach to education that is clearly working for some schools.
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I completely agree with you about the points you've made in this post. Being a great teacher has nothing to do with test scores and the amount of experience you've had. I feel like critics are expecting a lot from this organization and that's why they can be pretty skeptical sometimes. TFA seems to be a program for new-coming teachers or people who are interested in working with children, not professionals. I agree that this could be seen as a positive rather than as a negative. There is no way anyone can truly measure the amount of effectiveness a teacher gives to their students.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you and Felicia--when we consider how to measure effectiveness, we don't have strong metrics for more qualitative analyses of a teachers' impact on student trajectories. To ensure we can compare apples to apples, all we have are (supposedly) standardized tests. While I know quantitatively the educational outcomes of the students on my case load, I often wonder if any of them think about me in the same way I remember the teachers who had a profound impact on my development.
ReplyDeleteInteresting to hear you're considering TFA! Ask Dr. Glassman for my email address if you'd like to grab a cup of coffee and talk through any specific questions I didn't address last week.