Mediating Factors Between Teacher Effectiveness and Academic Achievement

• In Event: Value-Added in Arizona: Specifics, Statistics, and Impact

Abstract

Purpose

Evidence suggests teacher effectiveness is associated with growth in student academic achievement (Brophy, 1986; Darling-Hammond, 2000; Wright, Horn, & Sanders, 1997). This study examined whether perceived teacher working conditions (e.g., empowerment, availability of resources) mediate this association.

Perspectives

While legislation, both at the state and federal levels, has created high-stakes testing environments meant to indicate whether teachers are effective in the classroom based on the value they add to student test scores, there has been less attention paid to how the school environment impacts this new definition of teacher effectiveness. There is evidence to suggest that student achievement is associated with teacher reports of school culture (Hirsh, Emerick, Church, and Fuller, 2006). A significant association between whether a school meets Adequate Yearly Progress and school culture has also been documented (Applewhite, 2010).

Methods

This study examined associations among teacher effectiveness ratings, perceptions of teacher working conditions (as measured by the Teacher Working Conditions Survey; The Center for Teaching Quality, n.d.), and value-added calculations on student achievement. First, correlations among factors were computed. Given results, hierarchical linear regression was also used to further clarify these associations, specifically to examine mediation and/or moderation between factors.

Results

Significant correlations were found between overall teacher effectiveness ratings (as measured by observation scores) and student achievement growth in math and reading (as measured by standardized test scores). Results also illustrate correlations among teacher effectiveness ratings, student growth percentiles, and teacher perceptions of empowerment and decision-making (see Table 1). This suggests that perceived teacher empowerment may serve as a mediating factor between teacher effectiveness and value-added achievement scores.

In addition, there was a moderate correlation between teacher effectiveness ratings and facilities and teacher reports of having access to appropriate instructional materials (r = .46; p < .05). The authors performed additional analyses to identify other perceived working conditions and characteristics of the school environment (e.g., class size) that may influence the relationship between ratings of teacher effectiveness and value-added achievement scores as well. Finally, preliminary analysis indicated that as the percentage of teachers who reported they planned to remain in their school or district increased, so did teacher effectiveness ratings and student growth in math.
 
Significance

The results of this study indicate that teachers need to be assessed and evaluated within the context of the classroom and also as part of the school environment. While causation cannot be determined at this time, nor likely ever, teachers who were evaluated as having higher effectiveness ratings, were also more likely to indicate that they had greater levels of empowerment and perceived levels of decision-making authority at their schools. Elevated empowerment was associated with student value-added. In sum, teacher working conditions do matter for both teachers and students, and school reform and, moreover, accountability policies need to account for these interrelationships.

Authors

• Wendy Miedel Barnard, Arizona State University

• Kerry Chase Lawton, Arizona State University

• Sarah A. Polasky, Arizona State University

• Kim Marrone Beckert, Arizona State University