| The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences between urban, middle school teachers whose students had high academic gains (N = 60) and teachers whose students had low gains (N = 40) on state-mandated mathematics tests over a two- year period. Specifically, differences in (a) educational background (professional development, years of experience, degree type, and certification), (b) preparation to use standards-based teaching practices, (c) ability to teach diverse student populations, (d) instructional practice (traditional and standards-based), and (e) sense of self-efficacy were examined.;Participants were selected from a population of 212 middle school mathematics teachers in one urban school district based on the following: (a) two or more years as a middle school mathematics teacher (N = 180), (b) ranking in the top or bottom third according to students' mathematics gain scores based on value-added methodology (N = 120), and (c) returned responses to the survey (N = 100). Two instruments were used for data collection, the Mathematics Teacher Questionnaire (Weiss, Banilower, McMahon, & Smith, 2001) and the Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale (Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2001).;A causal comparative design was used to collect data and a one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) were used in data analysis. Findings included: (a) teachers who engaged in professional development for 16 hours or more had higher mathematics gain scores; (b) students whose teachers had degrees in mathematics or science education showed higher gains than students whose teachers held degrees in computer science, mathematics education, or elementary education; (c) teachers who reported being prepared for standards-based instruction and for working with diverse students had higher gains; (d) teachers who used both standards- based plus traditional instruction had higher gains than teachers who only used traditional instruction; and (e) teachers with a high sense of self-efficacy had higher student gains. The study's primary implication is that mathematics teachers' professional and educational backgrounds may significantly impact student achievement. Elucidating the differences between teachers who consistently enhance student gains and those who do not serves to expand the research on raising the mathematics achievement levels for all students.;KEY WORDS: Middle schools, Mathematics, Teacher effectiveness, Student achievement, Value-added, Sense of self-efficacy. |
