One of the biggest assumptions of No Child Left Behind, is that a "highly qualified" teacher is the most significant factor in determining student success in the classroom. Many studies have been published to this effect. Most notable and cited is probably the Rivkin, Hanushek and Kain study published in March 2005.
Before them was Futernick in 2002-2003, also describing the vast difference between teacher quality in low-income school communities and those of the middle- and upper-classes.
While the Rivkin et al study seems at first glance to be very comprehensive, taking into account what they call "family background", another vague characteristic named "school characteristics", and some measure of students' inherent abilities, which seems to be a measure similar to what a standard IQ test would measure.
The problem here, though, is that this study admittedly can't take into account the complete educational background of every student -- something that varies widely in a student population within a single classroom. And let's not forget that, of the four variables in the study, only one is of known definition. Almost nothing is done to describe what all these other "characteristics" were.
Also notably absent from their consideration is any sort of input as to parent involvement, parent educational level, student attitudes toward school and/or learning, and any measure of student out-of-class effort.
So basically, this study measured the variance of the rate of knowledge acquisition for students with the critical variable being teacher "quality" or qualifications, and found that this rate of learning varied widely from one teacher to the next. Well, no duh! We have all had that experience already!
The major problem here is that, in a study that was pre-determined to look at variation in learning between the classes of different teachers, they drew the conclusion that differences in teachers IS THE SINGLE BIGGEST FACTOR in student achievement. This is all sorts of wrong!
To make matters worse, study after study has jumped on the bandwagon to show that teacher qualifications are the leading factor in student achievement. Several programs are in place all over the US today, based on the findings of these multiple studies, to address the issue.
Ever more disturbing, the Rivkin et al study itself cites that the "conclusion" they draw may not be valid after elementary school. In lay terms, having a teacher with a Master's degree in Education or their particular area of teaching, may not have much effect on student learning after age 12!
So, basically, we have as a Country, determined from a study that only considers a teacher's qualifications, that the teacher's qualifications are the single biggest factor in student achievement. This is terrible news for all our home-schoolers out there!
As the study points out, though, previous studies (Coleman et al) had tried to determine the extent of "family influences" on student achievement -- but this is not something within the control of the schools. So, as a point of policy, this study deems parental and home factors to have no bearing on educational policy.
This defies the most basic common sense in an egregious manner! To say that in a low-income community, where students are "at risk" of poor achievement as measured by standardized testing (think "at risk" of not graduating from high school one day), that the only thing schools can do is fill their classrooms with teachers who have more extensive education.
Tell me, is a child growing up in poverty, who is concerned about whether or not they will get a meal at home tonight, going to relate to someone and learn better from them because they have an advanced degree? This is a ludicrous assumption!
In my honest opinion, schools that are in an "at risk" community, have a responsibility to engage in more community outreach. These schools need to have more contact with parents. They need to help parents understand how to best help their child. They need to give specific advice on how to ensure that homework is completed. They need to let parents know how to find out when assessments are. They need parents to understand how often grades will be sent home, and what resources are available for extra help.
In a low-income community, you have a higher percentage of parents who themselves have had less than exemplary experiences with the public school system. This in no way means they do not care about their child's success -- but it DOES mean they will need extra help in order to help their children.
This is even more true after elementary school. Most parents today, even if they never finished high school, are still equipped to help their elementary-aged children with reading or basic arithmetic. But what will those parents do, if their child is in fact successful in the early years -- when said child moves on up to Algebra or Geometry in math class, is taking a foreign language not known to the parent, studies English or Social Studies at an honors level, or takes a class in, say, Chemistry or Physics?
A more comprehensive study would be needed to assess the contribution of teacher qualifications VERSUS things like family socio-economic status and educational level; per-capita school spending; and individual student attitudes, study habits, and expectations. Certainly this makes sense from a secondary education perspective.
Again, in my own experience, in having had students in a single classroom whose parents' educational levels and earnings have varied vastly, along with their proficiency in the English language… And having seen almost no correlation between this and students' attitudes toward school -- I would be particularly interested to see how the variable of teacher qualifications played out vis-a-vis these other variables.
Schools can no longer sit idly by and say "Well, we can't influence the parents, the community, or the student attitudes" if they are to be successful. Education is not something that, once delivered by the most highly qualified teacher, is going to turn every student into a learner!
There are so many factors that influence learning. And we can't pigeon-hole the students OR teachers with the results of a handful of poorly defined and limited studies. Many home-schooled kids will excel, even when taught by parents who have only a high school equivalency education. And students with educated parents, in a great school system with terrific and qualified teachers, can still fail.
WE owe it to our students to stop mucking about deciding which factor we can or can not influence. The entire student needs education. And to accomplish this, as many attributes as can be identified, need to be addressed.
http://www.edfordemocracy.org/tqi/TQI_Quality_Matters.htm
http://www.econ.ucsb.edu/~jon/Econ230C/HanushekRivkin.pdf
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100422153804.htm
http://www.makesocialchangeareality.com/2009/08/teachers-biggest-influence-on-students.html
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