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20 Year Study Links Use Of Instructional Strategies To College Degrees & Higher Salaries

By John V

Republish: EasyPublish™
Published: 25Feb2012
Word count: 447
Viewed: 38 time(s)

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A recent study conducted by economists at Harvard and Columbia indicates that good teachers affect their students' chances for success more than anyone ever before imagined. The research indicates that an effective 4th grade teacher makes their students 1.25 percent more likely to attend college. Students are so influenced by the quality of their teachers, that their chances of becoming pregnant as a teenager decreases by 1.25 percent if they had a good teacher in 4th grade. A great teacher even has sway over how much money their students will earn as adults—their students are likely to make $25,000 more in their lifetime than students of ineffective teachers.

All these conclusions seem like a lot to deduce from a simple study, but the researchers followed an impressive 2.5 million students over the course of 20 years. By focusing on the test scores of students throughout their educational careers, these researchers could determine how the instructional strategies used by educators affected their success in life. This is the largest study ever completed of how individual teachers affect student test scores. It draws surprisingly strong connections between how great, average and poor teachers affect students' chances of going to college, when they have kids, and where they ultimately live.

Teaching strategies employed by educators to increase student test scores are always important in the classroom, but this research puts even greater weight on teacher performance at school. The final message of this study is for teachers whose students do not earn high test scores to be fired more quickly than before. Because the impact of teachers on their students is now better understood, the researchers believe it is even more important to ensure that schools are full of good teachers who are present in the classroom, utilize effective instructional strategies, and who guide students to satisfactory performance on standardized tests.

Teacher pay may even be determined by how students perform on state tests, as a result of this research. The term "value-added ratings" is used to describe the effect teachers have on student test scores. More school districts are already using valued-added ratings to make hiring, firing and salary decisions.

All these ideas put a lot of pressure on teachers to change the behavior of students who may come from difficult backgrounds. Perhaps this research is just reinforcing the notion that teachers have as much power in an elementary- and middle-schoolers life as their parents and peers. By utilizing research-based instructional strategies, teachers can influence their students and teach them how to perform well on standardized tests and become adults who do not become teenage parents, who go to college, and who earn good money.

Good teachers who employ instructional strategies have an even greater impact on student success later in life than previously imagined. Learn more about teaching strategies at MentoringMinds.com.

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