| There have been numerous reforms and educational plans recently implemented to close the widening gaps in school achievement. Federal mandates, such as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, seek to hold school systems accountable for the performance levels of every child that enters the classroom. The federal mandate also calls for a highly qualified teacher to instruct every child by the end of the 2005-06 school year. This study investigated the possibility of a relationship between teacher quality and student achievement. In other words, do students achieve more as a result of learning from a highly qualified teacher? Secondly, would this be true for the reading achievement of minority students? Thirdly, if teacher quality is related to student achievement, how much of the effect is directly related to the highly qualified teacher rather than to some other variables, such as student race or socioeconomic-status? Teacher quality was not found to be a mediating variable in the relationship on the reading achievement of minority and economically disadvantaged students. Caucasian students performed best regardless if a highly qualified or qualified teacher taught them. The results indicated that minority student achievement decreases with the increased percentage of minority enrollment regardless of teacher quality. The study implied the redistribution of experienced teachers be made a high priority along with the assignment of experienced teachers to students who struggle the most. Thus, the economically disadvantaged and minority students would be taught by the most experienced teachers. |
