In this report, the authors quantify the impacts of Teach For America Indianapolis on student and school outcomes in the Indianapolis area. They evaluate the effectiveness, retention, and career trajectories of Teach For America teachers from the Indianapolis chapter who work within the Indianapolis area, with comparisons made to other teachers hired during the same period.

Teaching and Leading

An Evaluation of the Impacts and Professional Trajectories of Teach For America Participants in Indianapolis

Benjamin K. Master, Kata Mihaly, Jonathan Schweig, Tiffany Berglund, Lynn Hu

ResearchPublished Jul 20, 2023

Teach For America is an organization that aims to address educational inequity in part through a program of training and placing teachers in U.S. K–12 public schools that have the highest proportions of high-poverty students. In this report, the authors quantify the impacts of Teach For America Indianapolis (TFA Indy) on student and school outcomes in the Indianapolis area. They evaluate the effectiveness, retention, and career trajectories of TFA Indy teachers who work within the Indianapolis area, with comparisons made to other teachers hired during the same period. In additional subgroup analyses, the authors identify differential patterns of TFA Indy teacher retention, promotion, and career progression as a function of whether teachers are White versus non-White.

Key Findings

  • TFA Indy teachers were, on average, more effective at increasing student achievement than non-TFA teachers. One year of instruction by a TFA Indy teacher was associated with around 1- and 2-percentile-point increase in student performance in English language arts and math, respectively.
  • TFA Indy teachers who worked in schools with five or more peer TFA-affiliated teachers were substantially more effective at increasing student achievement than non-TFA teachers. Instruction by these TFA Indy teachers was associated with around 2 and around 5 percentile points in student achievement gains in English language arts and math, respectively.
  • TFA Indy teachers were more likely to work in charter schools, in more-disadvantaged school contexts, and in schools serving more-diverse student populations than non-TFA teachers.
  • TFA Indy teachers left teaching earlier in their careers than non-TFA teachers, often once their two-year TFA corps member commitment ended.
  • Non-White TFA Indy teachers were more likely to remain in teaching than White TFA Indy teachers; however, among non-TFA teachers, the opposite trend was evident.
  • Non-White TFA Indy alumni were more likely to continue working in education-related careers than White TFA Indy alumni.
  • TFA Indy teachers were promoted to school and district leadership roles at similar rates as non-TFA teachers, but non-White TFA Indy teachers were less likely to be promoted than non-White non-TFA teachers.
  • There is an estimated net-positive effect on student achievement of hiring a TFA Indy teacher in comparison to a non-TFA teacher, when accounting for both differential retention and effectiveness.

Topics

Document Details

  • Copyright: Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation
  • Publisher: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Web-Only
  • Year: 2023
  • Pages: 54
  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.7249/RRA2127-1
  • Document Number: RR-A2127-1

Citation

RAND Style Manual

Master, Benjamin K., Kata Mihaly, Jonathan Schweig, Tiffany Berglund, and Lynn Hu, Teaching and Leading: An Evaluation of the Impacts and Professional Trajectories of Teach For America Participants in Indianapolis, RAND Corporation, RR-A2127-1, 2023. As of November 23, 2024: https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA2127-1.html

Chicago Manual of Style

Master, Benjamin K., Kata Mihaly, Jonathan Schweig, Tiffany Berglund, and Lynn Hu, Teaching and Leading: An Evaluation of the Impacts and Professional Trajectories of Teach For America Participants in Indianapolis. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2023. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA2127-1.html.
BibTeX RIS

Research conducted by

The research described in this report was was sponsored by the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation and conducted by RAND Education and Labor.

This publication is part of the RAND research report series. Research reports present research findings and objective analysis that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors. All RAND research reports undergo rigorous peer review to ensure high standards for research quality and objectivity.

RAND is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.