Exploring Teacher Certification and Student Achievement: A Global Perspective

• In Event: Teacher Education and Teacher Quality: Cross-National Perspectives

Abstract

Drawing on data from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018, Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2018, and country-specific teacher certification requirement documents, we employed random slope hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to examine the association, at both school- and country-levels, between teacher certification requirements and student achievement among 15-year-olds in 44 countries. Our results suggest that the index of fully certified teachers is significantly positively associated with students’ PISA performance, and countries with teacher practice requirement enjoy greater benefits from this. Stricter requirements for certificate are specifically helpful in improving low performers. Requirements for advanced degree, language proficiency, education-related credits, and a written test all have substantial positive associations with higher reading performance for lower-achieving students.

Authors

• Xin Xie, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Qi Zheng, University of Wisconsin - Madison