Number of High and Low Performing New Teachers from Tennessee’s Public Universities and Teach for America
According to the 2011 Report Card on the Effectiveness of Teacher Training Programs published by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, teachers trained by Teach for America are significantly more effective than are the graduates of Tennessee’s publicly funded universities. The good news is that all programs are turning out some exceptionally effective teachers but the bad news is that far too many beginning teachers are among the most ineffective in the state. Some programs are turning out 30 very ineffective teachers for every 10 that would qualify as very effective.
The annual achievement test scores (i.e., TCAPs) of students taught by very effective teachers go up roughly 8 percentile ranks per year relative to other students. The scores of students taught by very ineffective teachers do the opposite. And in terms of costs, Teach for America requires a much lower investment than more traditional programs, providing a greater return on investment as noted in another ECF analysis.
Charts are available to show the program graduates compare in teaching reading, math, and overall (composite).