The Impact of Teacher Residency Pathways on Student-Level Outcomes

• In Event: Answerability, Urgency, and Joy: Revitalizing and Reinvigorating Teacher Education Through Residency

Abstract

Objectives: Teacher residency pathways are becoming more prevalent across the country and hold promise for improving teacher diversity, quality, and retention. Given that many programs are in their nascent stages, little quantitative data has been reported on program outcomes (Guha, Hyler, & Darling-Hammond, 2016). This paper reports on the impact of a teacher residency program on P12 student outcomes.
Framework:
In quantitative research exploring residency program impact, most studies have focused on student achievement and teacher retention (e.g.,Papay et al., 2012; Sloan et al., 2018). There is emerging evidence on the influence of such programs on behavioral outcomes, particularly attendance (Sloan et al., 2018). Given the crucial role of school attendance in enhancing academic achievement (Aucejo & Romano, 2016), which is often overlooked in studies evaluating the intervention's impact through teacher effectiveness on student outcomes, our study aims to contribute by incorporating overall attendance rates in addition to student academic achievement.
Data:
This study reports directly on quantitative data focusing on the impact of residency-prepared teachers on their students in comparison to non-participating teachers and their students. Using R (version 4.2.1; R Core Team, 2022), we matched residency teachers with comparable non-residency teachers based on various criteria. The sample consisted of 32 teachers and 2,379 students. Given data structure, the present study constructed a two-level multilevel model, with the residency program participation status at level 2 and student outcomes at level 1 (Hox et al., 2018). We applied multilevel structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses, suitable for exploring the cross-level direct effect of this teacher residency on student outcome, as well as any cross-level indirect and total effects on student outcomes, using Mplus 8.10.
Results & Significance:
The ICC revealed that 33% of the variance in student GPA was at the teacher level, supporting our adoption of a multilevel framework (Preacher et al., 2011). The model fit results showed an acceptable fit for the overall model: chi-square = 2.450 (p >.05), RMSEA <.100, CFI/TLI >.900, and SRMR (within/between) = 0.002/0.075 (Bollen & Long, 1993; Hu & Bentler, 1999; Kline et al., 2015; Mills et al., 2012). Based on between-level results, the teacher residency program demonstrated a significant cross-level direct effect on overall GPA at the .100 level (β = 2.403, p = 0.083). There was positive cross-level indirect effect of the residency program on students' performance through teacher-level attendance (βindirect = 1.920, p > .10), suggesting that the residency program positively influenced overall attendance, which in turn was associated with improvements in GPA. The indirect effect alone was not statistically significant. Nevertheless, a crucial finding emerged when considering the combined impact of the direct and indirect effects on student performance. The cross-level total effect showed a significant positive effect at the .050 level (βtotal = 4.324, p = 0.048). This comprehensive analysis emphasizes the program's significant influence on enhancing student performance. As residency programs proliferate, this study adds to the growing research examining the impact of teacher residency programs on student outcomes by highlighting the significant positive influence of the program.

Authors

• Sunha Kim, University at Buffalo - SUNY

• Preston Martin, University at Buffalo - SUNY