Evaluation Matters:

Abstract

1. What is the purpose of this report? This report examines the placement of Teacher for America (TFA) teachers and examines their impact on the learning gains of their students during 2011-12. TFA is an organization that recruits and trains recent college graduates/professionals to teach for two years in selected communities. Admission is competitive. All members attend five-weeks of intensive preparatory training and receive ongoing support from the TFA Foundation during their internship. Teachers who do not hold certification in their assigned content areas receive alternative certification through coursework taken while completing the program. TFA teachers receive the regular district salary and benefits, supplemented by a voucher that can be used to cover previous student loans, credentialing, or further education. 2. Which populations were targeted in this report? Sets of eligible TFA teachers were identified in 2011-12, which included all TFA teachers assigned to grades tested by the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) in reading and mathematics. Separate comparison groups for reading and mathematics included all Non-TFA teachers assigned to FCAT tested grades, in schools with TFA teachers, who had course loads in which the majority of courses were the same as those taught by the TFA teachers. 3. How were the data for this report collected and analyzed? Data used in this analysis were obtained from archival records supplemented by data from the student database system and student learning gains data computed by the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE). Analyses of the placement and persistence of TFA teachers was limited to descriptive statistics. The analysis of the impact of TFA teachers was conducted by comparing the proportion of TFA and Non-TFA teachers' students who made learning gains in core courses and gauging the statistical significance of any differences in the comparisons using chi-squared (χ 2) tests. Phi (φ) coefficients were used to classify the practical significance of any statistically significant comparisons found as .10 (weak), .30 (moderate), or .50 (strong), based on Cohen's (1988) classification. 4. At what school levels were Teach for America teachers placed? TFA teachers were primarily assigned to M-DCPS senior high schools, but varied in terms of grade organization, subject area, and level of the courses. Tables 1 lists the total number of schools with TFA teachers, the total number of TFA teachers in those schools, and the number and percent TFA teachers assigned to FCAT tested grades and subjects within each school type.