Presenter:
Richard Buddin, RAND
Abstract: The ultimate goal of the project is to assess how the performance of teachers on state licensure tests affects the classroom effectiveness as measured by the student achievement gains of their students. The analysis focuses from on student achievement and linked teacher data for several large California school districts. California requires three types of teacher licensure tests as part of the teacher certification process; a general knowledge test, a subject area test (single subject for secondary teachers and multiple subject for elementary teachers), and a reading pedagogy test for elementary school teachers. The research will assess whether a teacher's score on these tests has an effect on student achievement in each teachers classroom. The student achievement analysis is based on a value-added approach using student-level data that is longitudinally linked.