WWC Quick Review: Teach For America Study July 2008

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What is this study about?

This study examined whether having a Teach For America (TFA) teacher instead of a non-TFA teacher affects the academic performance of high school students.

The study analyzed data from 23 North Carolina school districts that hired at least one TFA teacher from 2000 to 2005. The sample included 69 TFA teachers.

The authors examined data from a statewide database on standardized end-of-course tests administered to all North Carolina high school students. These data covered the school years 2000-01 to 2005-06.

The study measured effects by comparing student test scores in classes taught by TFA teachers to test scores from the same students in classes not taught by TFA teachers. Nearly 6,000 students in the sample had a TFA teacher during the sample period.

What did the study authors report?

TFA improved student performance on standardized
end-of-course tests in math and science—by about
one-tenth of a standard deviation. This is equivalent to moving a student from the 50th to the 54th percentile.

The WWC has reservations about these results because students’ ability in these subjects may have varied in ways not controlled for in the analysis and because study data do not identify students’ teachers with certainty.

WWC quick reviews are based on the evidence published in the report cited and rely on effect sizes and significance levels as reported by study authors. WWC does not confirm study authors’ findings or contact authors for additional information about the study. The WWC rating refers only to the results summarized above and not necessarily to all results presented in the study.