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Teachers and Teaching

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The challenge of transforming underperforming schools and improving student achievement drives RAND's commitment to education. RAND research on teachers and teaching explores a wide range of topics, including instructional practices, technology in the classroom, class size, teacher recruitment and retention, and teacher quality and effectiveness.

Report

Challenges That May Be Getting in the Way of Student Learning

Feb 8, 2022

As of November 2021, school district leaders' top three concerns were the mental health of students, teachers, and principals. And 74 percent of them said that political polarization about COVID-19 safety or vaccines was interfering with their ability to educate students.
Commentary

'Grow Your Own' Prep Programs Can Improve Diversity of the Teaching Workforce

Mar 9, 2022

Black and Hispanic educators are much more likely than white educators to say they plan to leave the profession, threatening to exacerbate an already overwhelming lack of diversity. Local, “grow your own” alternative teacher preparation programs can help to strengthen the diversity of the teaching workforce, as well as enable districts to address broader staffing challenges.

Explore Teachers and Teaching

Brochure

Multiple Choices: Options for Measuring Teaching Effectiveness

What does effective teaching look like, and how can it be measured? Some methods for measuring teaching effectiveness examine teachers' practices directly, whereas others emphasize student outcomes. Each method involves trade-offs, however, and no single method provides a complete picture of a teacher's effectiveness.

Sep 28, 2012
Brochure

What Student Achievement Tests Tell Us About Teacher Effectiveness

Student scores on reading and math achievement tests tell us a lot about how well students are learning those subjects, but scores on a single annual test aren't necessarily a good indicator of teacher effectiveness.

Sep 28, 2012
Commentary

Evidence Should Guide Chicago Teachers Dispute

The Chicago Teachers Union strike erupted over classic issues: an extended day, a new evaluation system and hiring and firing. Yet, somewhat classically, neither the union nor Chicago Public Schools has put forth research evidence to support their stance, writes Darleen Opfer.

Sep 11, 2012
Journal Article

Consider the Evidence

One of the best ways to increase student learning is to simultaneously increase the time spent on learning and the quality of instruction.

Sep 11, 2012
Commentary

Lessons from the Science of Learning for 21st-Century Schools

To succeed in the 21st century, students need to be able to communicate, collaborate, and problem-solve with people beyond national boundaries. Director of RAND Education Darleen Opfer describes how teachers can teach 21st-century skills, using nine lessons from the science of learning.

Sep 7, 2012
Brochure

Focusing on K-12 Education

In the area of K–12 education, RAND Education partners with policymakers, school systems, practitioners, and other stakeholders to help improve education outcomes and systems and to increase access and equity.

Sep 4, 2012
Journal Article

Measuring Value-Added in Higher Education: A Practical Guide for Policymakers

An rapidly developing outcomes-based culture among policymakers in the higher education sector recognizes the need for measures of value-added to capture the effect of institutions on their students—and the power these measures can have in incentivizing better performance.

Sep 1, 2012
Report

Optimizing the Defense Language Institute English Language Center

Presents an assessment of the Defense Language Institute English Language Center (DLIELC), which trains foreign nationals in English prior to their attending U.S. military education and training courses.

Aug 30, 2012
Research Brief

No Evidence That Incentive Pay for Teacher Teams Improves Student Outcomes: Results from a Randomized Trial

Analysis of an incentive program that paid teachers bonuses based on their students' growth in achievement in mathematics, English language arts, science, and social studies showed no effect on student test scores in any of the subject areas.

May 30, 2012
Journal Article

An Argument Approach to Observation Protocol Validity

This article develops a validity argument approach for use on observation protocols currently used to assess teacher quality for high-stakes personnel and professional development decisions.

Apr 1, 2012
Journal Article

Teaching and Learning 21st Century Skills: Lessons from the Learning Sciences

This paper focuses on explaining how 21st century skills should be taught, given what we know about how students learn.

Apr 1, 2012
Journal Article

Simultaneous One-Sided Tests with Application to Education Evaluation Systems

In this article, we discuss controlling simultaneous errors in classification of teachers or schools by a decision-theoretic approach.

Feb 1, 2012
Periodical

RAND Review: Vol. 35, No. 3, Winter 2011-2012

Stories discuss world demographic trends, Afghan peace prospects, U.S. health care spending, California prisoner reentry, Latin American inequalities, global health, veterans' mental health, highway investments, teacher bonuses, and charter schools.

Jan 13, 2012
Report

Support for Students Exposed to Trauma (Japanese translation)

Japanese translation of Support for Students Exposed to Trauma, a series of lessons aimed at reducing distress for middle school students who have been exposed to a traumatic life event.

Jan 13, 2012
Journal Article

Do Incentive Pay Programs Affect Teacher Motivation?

Teacher surveys from three different pay-for-performance programs showed that most teachers did not report their program as motivating. None of the programs changed instruction, increased hours worked or job stress, or damaged collegiality.

Jan 1, 2012
Journal Article

Can Team Pay for Performance Improve Teacher Practices and Student Outcomes?

Policymakers have shown increased interest in incentive programs for teachers based on the outcomes of their students. However, evidence shows no significant effects from team-level bonuses on student achievement or teacher practices in the short term.

Jan 1, 2012
Journal Article

Where You Come from or Where You Go? Distinguishing Between School Quality and the Effectiveness of Teacher Preparation Program Graduates

The authors consider the challenges and implications of controlling for school contextual bias when modeling teacher preparation program effects.

Jan 1, 2012
Journal Article

Reading Coach Quality: Findings from Florida Middle Schools

This article examines what constitutes, contributes to, and is associated with high-quality coaches and coaching. Authors find that coaches generally held many of the qualifications recommended by state and national experts and principals and teachers rated their coaches highly on many indicators of quality. However, several common concerns about recruiting, retaining, and supporting high-quality coaches emerged.

Jan 1, 2012
Journal Article

Accounting for Movement Between Childcare Classrooms: Does It Change Teacher Effects Interpretations?

Child care studies that have examined links between teachers' qualifications and children's outcomes often ignore teachers' and children's transitions between classrooms at a center throughout the day and only take into account head teacher qualifications.

Jan 1, 2012
Journal Article

Beyond Incentives: Do Schools Use Accountability Rewards Productively?

We use a regression discontinuity design to analyze an understudied aspect of school accountability systems—how schools use financial rewards.

Jan 1, 2012

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RAND Topic:
Teachers and Teaching

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