ERIC Number: EJ1068119
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0013-189X
EISSN: N/A
Uneven Playing Field? Assessing the Teacher Quality Gap between Advantaged and Disadvantaged Students
Goldhaber, Dan; Lavery, Lesley; Theobald, Roddy
Educational Researcher, v44 n5 p293-307 Jun-Jul 2015
Policymakers aiming to close the well-documented achievement gap between advantaged and disadvantaged students have increasingly turned their attention to issues of teacher quality. A number of studies have demonstrated that teachers are inequitably distributed across student subgroups by input measures, like experience and qualifications, as well as output measures, like value-added estimates of teacher performance, but these tend to focus on either individual measures of teacher quality or particular school districts. In this study, we present a comprehensive, descriptive analysis of the inequitable distribution of both input and output measures of teacher quality across various indicators of student disadvantage across all school districts in Washington State. We demonstrate that in elementary school, middle school, and high school classrooms, virtually every measure of teacher quality we examine--experience, licensure exam scores, and value added--is inequitably distributed across every indicator of student disadvantage--free/reduced-price lunch status, underrepresented minority, and low prior academic performance. Finally, we decompose these inequities to the district, school, and classroom levels and find that patterns in teacher sorting at all three levels contribute to the overall teacher quality gaps.
Descriptors: Teacher Effectiveness, Advantaged, Disadvantaged, Teacher Distribution, Elementary Schools, Middle Schools, High Schools, School Districts, Equal Education, Teaching Experience, Licensing Examinations (Professions), Scores, Low Income Groups, Minority Group Students, Disproportionate Representation, Academic Achievement, Low Achievement, Achievement Gap
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2814
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Middle Schools; Secondary Education; Junior High Schools; High Schools; Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Washington
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A