A Think Twice Review of:

An Evaluation of Teachers Trained Through Different Routes to Certification

Think Twice - Mar 10, 2009

Publisher/Think Tank - Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.

Author(s) -

This report finds that students who were assigned an alternatively certified teacher did no worse on achievement tests than students whose teacher came through the traditional teacher-education route. Moreover, the report concludes that there is no association between greater amounts of teacher training coursework and effectiveness in the classroom.

Reviewer(s) - Sean P. Corocoran, New York University and Jennifer Jennings

In their review of this report, the authors find that the conclusions drawn by the report are not supported by the report’s actual data. They contend that few, if any, valid conclusions about teacher certification policy can be drawn from the Mathematica report and that any conclusions that are drawn tend to favor traditional certification routes.