| The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 put in place sweeping educational reforms targeted to raise school accountability for student achievement. Research has confirmed there is a distinct relationship between quality instruction and student learning, so one by-product of this reform movement is to provide every student with a high quality teacher, every year, in every classroom. This presents a challenge to school districts where teachers may not have the training and content knowledge necessary to raise the bar for students.; Professional development has long been a routine service provided by school districts. In Ohio, however, with school funding dependent on property taxes determined by voter approval of school levies, budgets have gotten tighter. Therefore, districts are often forced to choose between funding professional development to improve student achievement and funding other basic programs.; An analysis of variance and Level-2 hierarchical linear models were used to explore the relationship between teacher participation in targeted, sustained professional development in mathematics and student performance on the Ohio Achievement Test for Mathematics (OATM). Sixty-nine teachers were selected for this study from those who had participated in professional development through the SMART Consortium between June, 2004 and April, 2007. Over 4,100 OATM test histories were retrieved for students of the selected teachers.; Results indicated there was a positive relationship between teacher participation in sustained, targeted professional development and student achievement on the OATM. Teacher participation in a minimum of 90 hours of professional development, years of experience, and certification in mathematics were all significant predictors of student performance on the 2007 OATM. Teacher participation in professional development and teacher certification in mathematics were associated with a narrowing of the gap between male and female students with regard to level of improvement in student performance on the OATM from 2006 to 2007. Finally, teacher background in mathematics was associated with a narrowing of the minority achievement gap with regard to level of improvement in scores over the two year period. Professional development, as shown in this study, can serve to enhance teacher characteristics, adding value to student learning and supporting increased student achievement. |
