Alternative Routes to Teaching: The Impacts of Teach for America on Student Achievement and Other Outcomes
Glazerman, Steven; Mayer, Daniel; Decker, Paul (2006). Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, v25 n1 p75-96. Retrieved from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ759352
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examining1,715Students, grades1-5
Teach for America (TFA) Intervention Report - Teacher Training, Evaluation, and Compensation
Review Details
Reviewed: August 2016
- Randomized Controlled Trial
- Meets WWC standards without reservations
This review may not reflect the full body of research evidence for this intervention.
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Please see the WWC summary of evidence for Teach for America (TFA).
Findings
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Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS): Reading |
Teach for America (TFA) vs. Business as usual |
9 Months |
Grades 1-5;
|
28.17 |
27.61 |
No |
-- |
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS): Math |
Teach for America (TFA) vs. Business as usual |
9 Months |
Grades 1-5;
|
30.44 |
28.01 |
Yes |
|
|
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Sample Characteristics
Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.
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Female: 49%
Male: 51% -
Rural, Urban
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California, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Texas
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Race Black 67% -
Ethnicity Hispanic 26% Not Hispanic or Latino 74%
Study Details
Setting
The study took place in 17 schools located in six TFA regions: Baltimore, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles (Compton school district), the Mississippi Delta, and New Orleans.
Study sample
Among the students, 49% were female, 20% were overage for their grade, and 95% were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. The racial/ethnic demographics were as follows: 67% were African American; 26% were Hispanic; 4% were unknown; and 3% were another race/ethnicity, non-Hispanic.
Intervention Group
Students were taught by TFA teachers. Most teachers were current TFA corps members within their 2-year teaching commitment, but some were TFA alumni who had completed the commitment and continued teaching. The median years of teaching experience was 2. Among TFA teachers, 70% had a bachelor’s degree from a most, highly, or very competitive college or university.30 By the end of the study year, 51% of TFA teachers had received a regular or initial teacher certification, and 25% had either a bachelor’s or master’s degree in education. The median age at the time of the study was 24 years, and 69% of TFA teachers were female, 67% were White, 16% were African American, 11% were another race/ethnicity, and 6% were Hispanic. The authors did not report any deviations from the TFA model.
Comparison Group
Students were taught by individuals who had never been a TFA corps member. The median years of teaching experience was 6. Among the comparison teachers, 2% had a bachelor’s degree from a most, highly, or very competitive college or university. By the end of the study year, 67% of comparison group teachers had received a regular or initial teacher certification, and 55% had either a bachelor’s or a master’s degree in education. The median age of comparison group teachers at the time of the study was 35 years, and 87% of comparison group teachers were female, 76% were African American, 11% were White, 11% were Hispanic, and 3% were another race/ethnicity.
Support for implementation
TFA teachers received the typical support prescribed by the TFA model, which includes attending a 5-week summer institute prior to becoming a classroom teacher and receiving ongoing support during the 2-year teacher commitment from local TFA staff who conduct classroom observations and connect corps members with resources to address their specific professional development needs.
Additional Sources
In the case of multiple manuscripts that report on one study, the WWC selects one manuscript as the primary citation and lists other manuscripts that describe the study as additional sources.
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Antecol, H., Eren, O., & Ozbeklik, S. (2013a). The effect of Teach for America on the distribution of student achievement in primary school: Evidence from a randomized experiment. Economics of Education Review, 37, 113–125.
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Antecol, H., Eren, O., & Ozbeklik, S. (2013b). The effect of Teach for America on the distribution of student achievement in primary school: Evidence from a randomized experiment (Discussion Paper 7296). Bonn, Germany: IZA.
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Decker, Paul; Mayer, Daniel; Glazerman, Steven. (2004). Quality in the Classroom: How Does Teach For America Measure Up? Issue Brief #1. Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.
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Decker, P. T., Mayer, D. P., & Glazerman, S. (2004a). The effects of Teach for America on students: Findings from a national evaluation. Princeton, NJ: Mathematica Policy Research. Retrieved from http://www.mathematica-mpr.com.
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Decker, P. T., Mayer, D. P., & Glazerman, S. (2004b). The effects of Teach for America on students: Findings from a national evaluation (Discussion Paper 1285-04. Madison: Institute for Research on Poverty, University of Wisconsin–Madison.
An indicator of the effect of the intervention, the improvement index can be interpreted as the expected change in percentile rank for an average comparison group student if that student had received the intervention.
For more, please see the WWC Glossary entry for improvement index.
An outcome is the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are attained as a result of an activity. An outcome measures is an instrument, device, or method that provides data on the outcome.
A finding that is included in the effectiveness rating. Excluded findings may include subgroups and subscales.
The sample on which the analysis was conducted.
The group to which the intervention group is compared, which may include a different intervention, business as usual, or no services.
The timing of the post-intervention outcome measure.
The number of students included in the analysis.
The mean score of students in the intervention group.
The mean score of students in the comparison group.
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Study findings for this report.
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