The authors provide a comprehensive analysis of the Teacher Effectiveness and Certification (TEACh) program, an alternative training program for kindergarten through grade 12 teachers. TEACh programs seek to train diverse cohorts of high-quality teaching candidates to fill hard-to-staff positions. The authors describe the implementation of TEACh and its effect on teacher recruitment, teacher retention, and student achievement in three locations.

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Widening the Pathway

Implementation and Impacts of Alternative Teacher Preparation Programs Across Three Contexts

by Alice Huguet, Christopher Joseph Doss, Benjamin K. Master, Fatih Unlu, Jessica L. Sousa, Karen Christianson, Garrett Baker

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Research Questions

  1. What enabled or constrained implementation of TEACh recruitment and selection, pre-service training (PST), hiring, first-year supports, and program sustainability?
  2. How did the achievement gains for students of TEACh teachers compare with those of students of other new teachers in the same districts?
  3. How did retention rates of TEACh teachers in a given school district compare with those of other new teachers in the same district?

The authors of this report offer an in-depth analysis of the Teacher Effectiveness and Certification (TEACh) program, an alternative teacher preparation program intended to train diverse cohorts of high-quality teaching candidates to fill hard-to-staff positions. They follow three TEACh programs in different regions of the United States, which were established in partnerships between TNTP (formerly known as The New Teacher Project) and local partner organizations. The partner organizations differed, with one consisting of a medium-size school district, one a large district, and one a nonprofit consortium serving charter schools and two small districts. In these regions, TNTP advised its partner organizations about recruiting, selecting, training, and supporting cohorts of teachers in a gradual release model over the course of three years, with the partner organization taking full responsibility in the third year.

In evaluating the implementation and effects of the TEACh programs, the authors focused on the first two cohorts of teacher candidates in the 2018–2019 and 2019–2020 school years. In addition to tracing successes and challenges in each program and cohort, including the effect of new teachers on student achievement, the authors considered the advantages of using alternative pathways to recruiting, training, and supporting local candidates at a time when states and school districts across the United States are facing substantial shortages of teachers to staff key roles in kindergarten through grade 12 (K–12) schools.

Key Findings

The implementation of TEACh was successful overall in the first two years

  • In terms of recruitment and selection, candidates were drawn to the affordability and local nature of the program.
  • In terms of PST, candidates valued classroom time and culturally relevant pedagogy.
  • In terms of hiring, most candidates were successfully hired into appropriate teaching positions prior to the start of the school year.
  • In terms of first-year supports, coaching varied widely, and programs had different degrees of success in shifting coaching responsibilities from TNTP to partner organizations.
  • In terms of sustainability after the departure of TNTP, financial and staff resources were a concern for all three programs.

The overall impact of TEACh was mixed

  • The TEACh cohorts were somewhat more racially and ethnically diverse than the pools of other new teacher hires.
  • Achievement gains for students of TEACh participants in their first year were not significantly different than for students taught by non-TEACh first-year teachers.
  • Due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, student achievement data for the 2019–2020 school year were limited. In the one program where these data were available, achievement gains for students of second-year TEACh teachers were significantly higher in math, but not in English language arts (ELA), than for students of comparison second-year teachers.
  • TEACh teachers did not differ significantly from comparison teachers in terms of the rate at which they remained teaching in their districts after two years of service.

Table of Contents

  • Chapter One

    Introduction

  • Chapter Two

    Implementation

  • Chapter Three

    Impact of TEACh

  • Chapter Four

    Conclusion

  • Appendix A

    Methods

  • Appendix B

    Additional Impact Estimates

Research conducted by

This report was sponsored by TNTP and conducted by RAND Education and Labor.

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