Project Activities
The researchers will carry out three activities. First, they will examine points of entry and exit for high school graduates who pursue teacher education to help policymakers identify and remove barriers to completion. Second, the team will examine the current teacher workforce to find the most common pathways into teaching for teachers of color who are successful and persistent in long-term employment in public school. Finally, they will provide policymakers with a detailed understanding of where the existing teacher workforce came from, the potential expansions in the teacher pipeline, and common points of leakage or blockage where potential teachers exit that pipeline. These project activities will include mixed-methods research to identify financial and bureaucratic obstacles to becoming a teacher, analyzing the public and private costs of various pathways into teaching, and identifying the successful pathways for current teachers.
Structured Abstract
Setting
The researchers will use longitudinal data from the state of Maryland, hosted at the MLDS Center, a state agency that serves as a repository of cross-agency data and conducting policy-relevant research.
Sample
The sample includes Maryland's nearly 900,000 public school students (34 percent White, 33 percent Black, 12 percent other races, and 21 percent Hispanic) and Maryland's 16,600 teachers (71 percent White, 19 percent Black, and 11 percent other races).
The achievement scores of Black and Hispanic students are 16 points behind those of their White peers in kindergarten. The disparity increases to over 30 points on 3rd-grade math exams. Black and Hispanic students are less likely to graduate, enter college, and complete postsecondary degrees. The characteristics of the teacher workforce do not reflect the state's quickly growing diversity in the student population, compounding the achievement gap in the state. Maryland has created several pathways aimed at diversifying the teacher workforce: (i) the Teacher Academy of Maryland (TAM), in which high school students earn dual-enrollment credits towards a teaching credential, and (ii) the associate of arts in teaching (AAT) degree, which allows students to begin at a community college and transfer credits to a 4-year institution. Although these programs attract a more diverse group of potential teachers in terms of initial enrollment, the programs underproduce teachers of color relative to the growing demand. The Maryland teaching workforce also includes teachers who transfer an out-of-state license and who entered through alternative pathways (e.g., Teach for America, New Teacher Project in Baltimore City, three local LEA teaching fellows programs, and Bard College). The researchers will identify the obstacles to students of color entering teacher training, the bureaucratic and financial obstacle to completion, and the implications for equity across the state. Finally, they will inform state policymakers about the successful pathways of diverse teachers who positively impact students of color.
Research design and methods
The researchers will merge records in the MLDS across high school (transcripts, demographics, and achievements), college (enrollment, transcripts, financial aid, completion), and career (teaching certification, public school employment, outside employment, subsequent employment after leaving education) to provide a detailed description the teaching pipeline. Additionally, they will link teachers to their students' outcomes to examine impacts on students. They will complete quantitative multi-level analysis using Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDS) accounting for district- and school-level variability. They will conduct disaggregated analysis for districts with common characteristics (e.g., solely urban districts or solely rural districts). For larger districts, they will estimate models fully disaggregated by district. They will also complete qualitative interviews to better understand motivations for and challenges to entering teaching.
Comparisons: The researchers will compare teachers' pathways into teaching, including a comparison of TAM, AAT, 4-year programs, post-baccalaureate certificates, and mid-career pathways. They will also compare the student achievement and behavioral outcomes for teachers prepared in different pathways and will include comparisons by race and ethnicity and by region and district.
Key measures
Key measures for students include performance and achievement gaps on state standardized tests, graduation/completion, postsecondary enrollment, and completion of teaching degrees or certificates and employment. Key measures for teachers and teaching pathways include length of employment, employment in hard-to-staff positions, and value-added measures.
Data analytic strategy
The researchers will complete transcript analysis, cost analysis, and Sankey flow charts to identify pathways into teaching with regression analysis to identify the contributions (via value-added modeling) of different teacher preparation pathways to student outcomes.
State decision making
Maryland will incorporate the results of the proposed study into regulations governing (1) the program review and approval process for all new teacher preparation programs and any revisions to existing teacher preparation programs, (2) the transferability of credit between high schools and postsecondary institutions, and (3) the award of funds from state scholarships.
People and institutions involved
IES program contact(s)
Project contributors
Partner institutions
University of Maryland, Baltimore
University of Maryland, College Park
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Products and publications
The researchers will disseminate the findings to policy audiences through public presentations, legislative testimony, dashboards generated for Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC) and the Maryland Higher Education Commission (MLDS) Center to inform caregivers and counselors, policy reports and briefs, and policy-oriented presentations. They also will disseminate results to academic audiences through peer-reviewed manuscripts and conference presentations. All findings will be shared free of charge with MHEC, the MLDS Center, and a vast array of state and local stakeholders connected with policymaking in Maryland through an annual stakeholder convening held in Baltimore, MD.
Related projects
Supplemental information
Co-Principal Investigators: Dow, Emily; Henneberger, Angela; Blazar, David
Partner Institutions: University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), University of Maryland College Park (UMCP), University of Maryland Baltimore (UMB), Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC), and Maryland Longitudinal Data System (MLDS) Center
Questions about this project?
To answer additional questions about this project or provide feedback, please contact the program officer.
