Impact of Teacher Residency Programs

Posted by on January 08, 2012

In the long term, positive

A new study from the National Bureau of Economic Research projects that over the long run, the Boston Teacher Residency should have a modest positive impact on student achievement in Boston, reports Stephen Sawchuck in Education Week. The study found math teachers trained through the program are, on average, initially less effective at raising student scores than other novice teachers, but within five years their instruction in that subject improves rapidly enough to surpass the effectiveness of colleagues. For English/language arts, the residency-trained teachers were no more effective at improving student achievement than other new teachers. The Boston program did, however, succeed in drawing a more ethnically diverse group of teachers to the profession than is typical; its candidates were more likely to teach the hard-to-fill subjects of math and science, and they were also much more likely than other new teachers to stay in the classroom for at least five years. The study is the first independent, empirical study of the teacher-residency approach to training. The Boston Teacher Residency, begun in 2003, was one of the first of its type and has attracted philanthropic support, spawned similar programs in other universities and school districts, and influenced federal teacher-quality policymaking.

Read more: http://tinyurl.com/6ravcw2
See report abstract: http://www.nber.org/papers/w17646