| In light of recent changes in federal law and the requirements for schools and districts to ensure that all students have access to highly qualified (HQ) teachers, research in this area has expanded rapidly. However, current research findings do not consistently define teacher quality and, to date, no consistent operational definition has emerged. While the characteristics of teacher quality have been studied previously in order to help establish the influence that teachers have on student learning, prior research has not been very effective in describing specific characteristics, qualifications or practices that lead to improved student achievement (Goe & Stickler, 2008).;A HQ teacher is considered a form of teacher quality under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, and defined in Kentucky as a teacher who: (a) holds at least a bachelor's degree; (b) holds full Kentucky certification; and (c) demonstrates competency in each of the core academic subjects taught (EPSB, 2008). I hypothesize that students served by teachers that are reported as HQ will earn higher standardized test scores than those served by teachers who are not HQ. Examining teacher qualifications is only part of teacher quality. However, research on teacher quality and what defines it is not clearly established. The determination of HQ status can be measured and provides hard evidence that a teacher is in fact HQ or not, based on criteria established by the NCLB. According to Heck (2007), there is some evidence that education levels and experience positively influence student achievement.;The purposes of this study are to examine the impact of HQ teachers in Kentucky on student achievement and to expand the literature base on teacher quality. This study examines the following research question: Controlling for student background, are there differences in student achievement between students served by HQ and non-HQ teachers? The teachers are pair matched to ensure that they serve students with comparable demographic background. Data is pre-existing and based on the 2008 Commonwealth Accountability Testing System (CATS) for the matching fourth and fifth grade students and their reading and math scores. A one-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) is used to assess group differences.;KEYWORDS: Teacher Quality, Student Achievement, Highly Qualified Teacher, Teacher Effectiveness, Elementary. |
