Finding Value Using Value-Added Modeling: Identifying High-Performing Teachers in Low-Performing Urban Schools

• In Event: Can Accountability Lead to Improved Teacher Quality?

Abstract

This paper uses grounded theory to reveal common teacher practices among high-performing teachers in nine low-performing schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Teachers were selected based on their students’ performance on the annual California Standards Test. The research team reviewed these teachers’ practices through observations, teacher and principal interviews, and student, parent, and teacher surveys. The data demonstrated that although the teachers were diverse demographically, they had similar personality traits and classroom practices. Previous studies determined that teacher effectiveness is key to students’ success and this study identifies common characteristics of high-performing teachers including strictness, instructional intensity, optimism, and humor. The implementation of effective policies that demand high-performing teaching practices are key to closing the achievement gap.

Authors

• Mary Poplin, Claremont Graduate University

• Mandy Renee Redfern, Claremont Graduate University