WHAT THE Class Size, Professional Development, and RESEARCH Recruitment, Induction, and Retention SAYS ABOUT of Highly Qualified Teachers A Compendium of the Evidence on Title II, Part A, Program–Funded Strategies About the Northwest Comprehensive Center The Northwest Comprehensive Center (NWCC), operated by Education Northwest, is one of the nation’s 15 regional Comprehensive Centers. Funded by the U.S. Department of Education, the NWCC provides high-impact training and technical assistance to state education agencies in the Northwest states of Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. Our work focuses on the priorities of educator effectiveness, school improvement, and Common Core State Standards implementation. Education Northwest is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization headquartered in Portland, Oregon, that’s dedicated to transforming teaching and learning. Our services to states, districts, schools, community-based organizations, and foundations include rigorous research and evaluation; research-based technical assistance; widely acclaimed professional development; and strategic communications that maximize impact. For more information, contact NWCC Director Mike Siebersma (Mike.Siebersma@ educationnorthwest.org) and visit http://nwcc.educationnorthwest.org. About the Author Basha Krasnoff is a researcher at Education Northwest where her responsibilities include participation in research studies, analysis, and reporting; development of research syntheses, research briefs, and white papers; and evaluation of program implementations at the state and district levels. Contact [email protected]. Literature Search Strategies Literature review sources, search terms, and keywords Two sources of information were used: a systematic search of multiple databases and a search in Google Scholar. We used a comprehensive strategy to search for qualifying studies, articles, and reports since 2007. The electronic bibliographic databases we searched included: EBSCO Professional Development Collection, Education Research Complete, ERIC, Gale’s Educators Reference Complete, Google Scholar, NBER Working Paper Series, PsychInfo, and Science Direct. Subject Search Terms Results* Class Size Reduction “class size reduction” AND Initial result: 3,000 items (“effect”* OR “achieve”* OR Narrowed to 86 items “learning outcomes” OR “school Final: 65 items improvement”) Professional (“professional development” Initial result: 8,000+ items Development OR “professional learning” OR Narrowed to 91 items “teacher development”) AND Final: 65 items (“student achieve”* OR “title II” OR “effective”* OR “student outcomes”) NOT (“part D” OR “math science partnership”) Teacher (“teacher recruitment” OR “teacher Initial result: 6,000 items Recruitment, retention” OR “teacher induction” Narrowed to 103 items Retention OR “principal recruitment” OR Final: 35 items “principal retention” OR “principal induction”) * After the initial search, a more in-depth reading of abstracts narrowed the results. A further review of the studies yielded the final number of reports that informed our findings. © 2014, Education Northwest i Currently three strategies predominate to address teacher quality issues: class size reduction; professional development; and recruitment, induction, and retention of highly qualified teachers. Review limitations • The study was limited to a review of research obtainable through Portland State University’s electronic databases and other free online databases. Books were excluded. • The review focused on published studies and journal articles. Dissertations were excluded. • English language only. • Publication date after 2007. ii Executive Summary States and districts have the flexibility to creatively use Title II, Part A funds to address teacher quality issues. Currently, three strategies predominate—class size reduction, professional development, and recruitment, induction, and retention of highly qualified teachers. Each strategy is implemented with the intention of improving teaching quality and, by extension, student achievement. To support decisions about which strategy would be most effective given organizational and structural constraints, states and districts need to consider the research evidence. This compendium comprises briefs developed from extensive literature searches, reviews, and analyses of the research evidence for each of the three common strategies. The purpose of the information presented here is to help inform states and districts as they plan their Title II, Part A, fund designations. Class size reduction There is no evidence that minimal or arbitrary reductions in class size will improve student performance. Across the entire range of research studies on class size reduction, however, there are a few general conclusions that can be drawn about the effects of smaller classes on student performance: • In the primary grades, boys and girls equally benefit academically from long-term exposure to small classes • Minority and low-income students gain particular academic and behavioral advantages that increase the longer they are exposed to smaller classes • Gains from small classes in the primary grades are larger when class size is reduced to fewer than 15 students • Poor instructional practice continues to yield poor academic results no matter how much the class size is reduced • Students who have been in smaller classes throughout the primary grades retain academic gains made in multiple content areas upon return to standard-size classrooms in the upper grades © 2014, Education Northwest iii One caveat: When schools and districts designate Title II, Part A funds for class size reduction, they should also plan appropriate professional development for the teachers who will carry out the program and make necessary changes to the educational and physical contexts in which those programs will be placed. Professional development Professional development consists of such a broad and complex array of interrelated but disparate learning opportunities, it is difficult to measure their overall effect on teacher’s knowledge and instructional practice. Research suggests that some types of professional development are effective at changing teacher instructional practices and some types of teacher practices are more effective at increasing student achievement. There is no body of research that causally links effective professional development approaches to increased student achievement. Professional development programs are judged effective primarily because they change instructional practice in a way that seems to increase student achievement. There are certain common features of professional development that have been associated with changes in teacher knowledge, practice, and by extension, student achievement. Professional development programs that are deemed effective share the following characteristics: • Strong content focus on higher order, subject-matter content and the pedagogy of how students learn that content • Active learning opportunities during the school day for teachers to get involved in inquiry-oriented, learning approaches, such as observing and receiving feedback, analyzing student work, or making presentations • Collective participation in collaborative, learning opportunities with groups of teachers from the same grade, subject, or school to build interactive learning communities • A consistent body of professional development activities that build the coherence of teacher knowledge, school curricula, district policy, and state reforms • Sufficient duration and span that spreads professional development activities over the school year or semester and includes at least 20–40 hours of contact time • Evaluation design that collects data on at least one measure of each program objective, including quality of implementation of development activities, gains in teacher knowledge, changes in classroom practices, and increases in student achievement Teacher recruitment, induction, and retention The recruitment, retention, and support of highly qualified teachers present three sets of intertwined challenges. Research overwhelmingly points to four broad categories related to the implementation of this strategy that states and districts must consider: organizational structures and supports; recruitment of prepared and qualified teachers; investment in induction and mentoring programs; and development of communities of iv professional teachers. Investing in competitive salaries is important; however, recruiting and keeping good teachers—both novice and experienced teachers—is equally a question of attending to key working conditions that matter to them. Consider the following: • In addition to class size, teaching loads, and the availability of materials, factors contributing to teacher retention include teacher participation in decisionmaking, strong and supportive instructional leadership from principals, and collegial learning opportunities. • Seeking out and hiring better prepared teachers has many payoffs and savings in the long-run, both in terms of lower attrition and higher levels of competence. • Investing in induction and mentoring programs provides a pipeline of effective and satisfied teachers who are prepared to enter and stay in high-need schools. Considering the high costs of attrition, many of the strategic investments needed to support competent teachers in staying, such as mentoring for beginners and ongoing learning and leadership challenges for veterans, pay for themselves in large degree. • Developing a stable, high-quality, teaching force that becomes increasingly effective creates a professional learning community that not only reduces teacher failure but also student failure. • Building the teaching profession to ensure quality teachers and learning for each student means paying teachers more but differently by reorganizing the school structure to create a tiered teaching profession that accommodates and rewards highly accomplished teachers who can manage and lead less experienced teachers. © 2014, Education Northwest v Contents Introduction 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Class Size Reduction 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Policy considerations 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Summary of findings 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lessons learned 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Professional Development 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Policy considerations 16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Summary of findings 17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lessons learned 18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References 18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Teacher Recruitment, Induction, and Retention 21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Policy considerations 28 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Summary of findings 29 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lessons learned 30 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References 31 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . How States Are Using Title II, Part A Funds 35 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi Introduction The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title II, Part A program provides “Improving Teacher Quality State Grants” to educational agencies implementing strategies intended to increase the academic achievement of all students. Agencies do this by helping schools and districts to improve teacher and principal quality and to ensure that all teachers are highly qualified. Nonregulatory guidance affords these agencies flexibility to use the funds creatively to address challenges to teacher quality, including: • Teacher preparation and new teacher qualifications • Recruitment, hiring, induction, and retention of teachers • Professional development • The need for more capable principals and assistant principals to serve as effective school leaders The Title II, Part A program requires that schools and districts implement scientifically based strategies and solutions, the effectiveness of which have been proven by “research that involves the application of rigorous, systematic, and objective procedures to obtain reliable and valid knowledge relevant to education activities and programs.” Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction requested assistance from the Northwest Comprehensive Center at Education Northwest to develop research briefs to meet that requirement. After an extensive review of the literature, we developed the following compendium of the research base for three Title II, Part A program–funded strategies for improving teacher quality: • Class size reduction • Professional development • Teacher recruitment, induction, and retention We hope that the information presented in this compendium supports states and districts as they strategically plan their investments in Title II, Part A programs. © 2014, Education Northwest 1