Project Activities
This project will bring together administrative data from Washington State collected as part of the Teacher Education Learning Collaborative (TELC), a consortium of 15 of the 21 teacher education programs (TEPs) that place student teachers in the State and from Washington State public schools data on K–12 students and their teachers. With this combined dataset, researchers will explore the correlations between characteristics of cooperating teachers (e.g., credential and experience indicators, value-added scores based on standardized test scores and absenteeism of the K–12 students they teach, and teaching candidate perceptions of the cooperating teacher) and characteristics of teaching candidates (e.g., teaching portfolio assessment scores, value-added scores based on student test scores, attrition, pre-service coursework). Researchers will also conduct a validation study using data from an ongoing study in a participating Washington State school district, in which student teachers were randomized to cooperating teachers in the 2016–17 and 2017–18 school years.
Structured Abstract
Setting
This project uses data from across Washington State, including urban, suburban, and rural communities.
Sample
The primary sample will consist of approximately 27,000 teaching candidates who graduate from 15 of the 21 teacher education programs (TEPs) in the state. The validation sample consists of 165 teaching candidates randomized to student teaching placements and cooperating teachers in a participating school district in the 2016-17 and 2017-18 school years.
The malleable factors include characteristics of cooperating teachers (e.g., credential and experience indicators, value-added scores based on standardized test scores of the K–12 students they teach, and teaching candidate perceptions of the cooperating teacher) and characteristics of teaching candidates (e.g., teaching portfolio assessment scores, value-added scores based on student test scores, and attrition).
Research design and methods
The researchers will merge administrative data from teacher education programs and from Washington State education licensure application and personnel records to explore correlations between characteristics of cooperating teachers and teaching candidates. The validation study will utilize a randomized design, in which teaching candidates will be randomized to student teaching placements and cooperating teachers in order to account for non-random sorting of teacher candidates to cooperating teachers and into the teaching workforce that may bias estimated relations between cooperating teacher characteristics and teacher candidate outcomes.
Control condition
Due to the exploratory nature of the research design, there is no control condition.
Key measures
Measures of cooperating teachers include credential and experience indicators (e.g., degree level, years of in-service teaching experience, and licensure test scores), value-added scores based on standardized test scores of the K-12 students they teach, and teaching candidate perceptions of the cooperating teacher. Measures of teaching candidates include: (a) performance on a portfolio-based subject-specific assessment administered to teaching candidates during their student teaching assignment; (b) value-added estimates based on standardized test scores and absenteeism of the K-12 students they ultimately teach as in-service teachers; and (c) probability of attrition from the workforce.
Data analytic strategy
The research team will use linear regression models to explore the relation between teaching candidate performance on the teaching portfolio assessment, prior licensure test scores, and cooperating teacher characteristics. They will also estimate value-added models that consider student test performance as a function of observed student characteristics (including prior test scores) and cooperating teacher characteristics. The team will use duration models to estimate the probability of attrition as a function of teacher characteristics (e.g., experience) and cooperating teacher characteristics.
People and institutions involved
IES program contact(s)
Project contributors
Products and publications
Researchers will produce preliminary evidence of potentially promising practices and peer-reviewed publications as well as postings on the CALDER website and presentations at conferences for state policymakers.
Publications:
ERIC Citations: Find available citations in ERIC for this award here.
Select Publications
Journal articles
Goldhaber, D., Krieg, J., Naito, N., & Theobald, R. (2020). Making the most of student teaching: The importance of mentors and scope for change. Education Finance and Policy, 15(3), 581-591. Full text
Goldhaber, D., Krieg, J., & Theobald, R. (2020). Effective like me? Does having a more productive mentor improve the productivity of mentees? Labour Economics, 63, 101792. Full text
Goldhaber, D., Krieg, J., Theobald, R., & Goggins, M. (2022). Front end to back end: Teacher preparation, workforce entry, and attrition. Journal of Teacher Education 73(3), 253-270.
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Questions about this project?
To answer additional questions about this project or provide feedback, please contact the program officer.
