Support For Positive Educational Impact
Since the founding of the organization, several independent studies have been conducted to gauge the effectiveness of Teach For America corps members relative to teachers who entered the teaching profession via other channels. Recent teacher pathway studies in three states — Louisiana, North Carolina, and Tennessee — suggest that Teach For America corps members have a greater impact on student achievement than new teachers from more traditional certification programs. Additionally, Teach For America won the largest grant out of nearly 1,700 applications to the U.S. Department of Education’s Investing in Innovation (i3) grant competition in 2010. The i3 scale-up grants required applicants to provide demonstrated evidence of success through objective, methodologically sound studies (e.g., experimental and quasi-experimental research designs) of student achievement.
In a study published by the Urban Institute and the Calder Center in March 2008, and forthcoming in the Journal of Public Policy and Management, the authors found "TFA teachers tend to have a positive effect on high school student test scores relative to non-TFA teachers, including those who are certified in-field. Such effects exceed the impact of additional years of experience and are particularly strong in math and science."
Mathematica Policy Research also addressed this question in a study published in June 2004 using random assignment of students to teachers. The study compared the gains in reading and math achievement made by students randomly assigned to Teach For America teachers or other teachers in the same school. The results showed that, on average, students with Teach For America teachers raised their mathematics test scores 0.15 standard deviations more than the gains made by other students. This is equivalent to students having received one extra month of instruction. In reading, students with Teach For America teachers performed similarly to students with other teachers.
According to an independent study by Policy Studies Associates, in 2009, 94 percent of principals who work with Teach For America teachers contend that Teach For America corps members make a significant and positive impact in their classrooms. 91% of principals expressed that Teach For America teachers are as well-prepared to teach as other beginning teachers. 63% believed that Teach For America's training is "better than average."
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