ERIC Number: ED558090
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2014
Pages: 29
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Uneven Playing Field? Assessing the Inequity of Teacher Characteristics and Measured Performance across Students. CEDR Working Paper. WP #2014-4
Goldhaber, Dan; Lavery, Lesley; Theobald, Roddy
Center for Education Data & Research
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, 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 lunch status, underrepresented minority, and low prior academic performance. Finally, we decompose these inequities to the district, school, and classroom level, and find that patterns in teacher sorting at all three levels contribute to the overall teacher quality gaps. A bibliography is included.
Descriptors: Teacher Characteristics, Performance Based Assessment, Achievement Gap, Advantaged, Disadvantaged, Teacher Effectiveness, Disproportionate Representation, Input Output Analysis, Educational Indicators, Elementary Secondary Education, Teaching Experience, Licensing Examinations (Professions), Scores, Achievement Gains, Lunch Programs, Minority Group Students, Low Achievement, Teacher Qualifications, Case Records, Data Analysis, Statistical Data, Student Characteristics, Credentials, Novices, Teacher Placement, Resource Allocation
Center for Education Data & Research. 3876 Bridge Way North Suite 201, Seattle, WA 98103. Tel: 206-547-5585; Fax: 206-547-1641; e-mail: cedr@uw.edu; Web site: http://www.cedr.us
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (CALDER) at American Institutes for Research
Authoring Institution: Center for Education Data & Research (CEDR)
Identifiers - Location: Washington
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A