December 4, 2008
Novice Teachers Trained by The New Teacher Project May Exceed Experienced Teachers in Effectiveness, Louisiana Study Finds
Value-added Study of Louisiana’s Teacher Certification Programs Gives The New Teacher Project’s Practitioner Teacher Program Highest Possible Ratings for Preparing Effective Teachers in Math, Reading and Language Arts
NEW ORLEANS, LA – New data from an ongoing study of Louisiana’s teacher education programs indicate that teachers trained by The New Teacher Project (TNTP) outperform both beginning and experienced teachers in the core content areas of math, reading and language arts. TNTP’s Louisiana Practitioner Teacher Program (LPTP), which has certified more than 800 teachers in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, was rated “Level 1” – the highest of five possible ratings—in each of these areas. The study said the program produces teachers who make “a positive contribution to student achievement from the point of entering the classroom.”
The state-sponsored study, led by researcher Dr. George Noell of Louisiana State University, uses a “value-added” model to measure the effect that teachers from the state’s preparation programs have on student achievement. The study examined seven programs, including both university-based certification pathways and alternate routes to teacher certification such as TNTP’s program. Each was given a performance rating based on an “effect estimate” of the teachers they produce.
TNTP’s Louisiana Practitioner Teacher Program earned especially strong results in the preparation of effective math teachers, with a mathematics effect estimate of 3.1. This effect estimate is greater than the average degree to which poor students typically fall further behind each year in achievement. “In the year that new TNTP teachers teach poor students, they, on average, help those students close the math academic gap with more economically advantaged students,” said Dr. Noell. This is especially noteworthy because virtually all LPTP teachers work in high-poverty schools, where students are normally more than twice as likely to have unqualified math teachers as more affluent students.
Ariela Rozman, CEO of The New Teacher Project, described the study’s findings as a validation of its approach. “From day one, the LPTP has maintained a sharp focus on outcomes,” said Rozman. “We work with folks who do not have prior education experience and train them to become teachers who can make an impact immediately. This study shows that alternative certification programs can help meet the needs of our schools without sacrificing quality. LPTP is producing top-quality teachers who can significantly affect the lives of poor and minority students.”
Rozman also credited the thorough selection processes of the LPTP’s partner organizations as part of its success. Many of the teachers participating in the LPTP during the course of the study were teachers recruited and selected by Teach For America and the Teach Baton Rouge program; the LPTP now certifies teachers from TNTP’s TeachNOLA program as well. “This is an indication of what can happen when you combine rigorous selection with rigorous training,” said Rozman. “When you make decisions based on teacher quality and potential effectiveness from the day you begin recruiting through the time a teacher earns certification, you get results.”
Timothy Daly, President of The New Teacher Project, urged other states to follow Louisiana’s example. “The Louisiana Board of Regents and Department of Education deserve great praise for opening teacher education up to alternative providers, setting high standards, and holding all programs accountable for their results,” he said. “It’s an approach that puts the focus on educational quality and the needs of students rather than outdated teacher preparation structures. We have begun to see a range of teacher certification providers—including universities—innovating and flourishing. The question is why we are not seeing more states following Louisiana’s lead.”
The full technical report is available from the Louisiana Board of Regents website, at http://www.regents.state.la.us/Academic/TE/Value%20Added.htm.
###
About The New Teacher Project
The New Teacher Project (TNTP) is a national nonprofit dedicated to closing the achievement gap by ensuring that poor and minority students get outstanding teachers. Founded by teachers in 1997, TNTP partners with school districts and states to implement scalable responses to their most acute teacher quality challenges. TNTP recruits and trains thousands of exceptional new teachers annually, supports school principals in staffing their classrooms, provides teacher certification in high-need subjects, and documents the policy barriers that keep students from getting the teachers they need. Since its inception, TNTP has trained or hired approximately 33,000 teachers, benefiting an estimated 4.8 million students nationwide. It has established more than 70 programs and initiatives in 28 states and published three seminal studies on urban teacher hiring and school staffing. This year, its clients include school districts in 26 cities, including Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Memphis, St. Paul, New Orleans, New York, Oakland, San Antonio, and Washington, DC, among others.
About the Louisiana Practitioner Teacher Program
The Louisiana Practitioner Teacher Program (LPTP) is operated by The New Teacher Project. It launched in 2001 as the first non-university provider of teacher certification in Louisiana. Over the course of the 12-18 month program, new teachers complete performance-based projects and participate in an intensive content seminar series designed to help them translate their existing content knowledge into effective classroom practice. Today the LPTP offers certification coursework in 15 different subject areas and trains novice teachers from three alternate route to certification programs, including Teach For America and TNTP’s own teachNOLA program. Teachers trained by the LPTP work in nine school districts, including the Recovery School District and 20 charter schools in New Orleans. Approximately 810 teachers have been certified by the program to date.
