In a new study, the Urban Institute used data from North Carolina to evaluate the effectiveness of high school Teach For America (TFA) teachers.
Researchers concluded (pp. 23 – 25 in the report):
– Disadvantaged students taught by TFA teachers are better off than they would be in the absence of TFA.
– Secondary school TFA teachers are more effective than the
teachers who would otherwise be in the classroom.
– Even when you restrict the comparison to traditional teachers who were fully certified in field, the TFA advantage still held.
– TFA status more than offsets any experience effects.
– Disadvantaged secondary students would be better off with TFA teachers, especially in math and science, than with fully licensed in-field teachers with three or more years of experience.
This is further evidence that teacher education and certification does much more harm than good.
HT: JH
