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6. Using Licensure Tests to Improve Teacher Quality and Supply
Pages 115-135

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From page 115...
... This chapter presents a theoretical model suggesting that the quality of prospective beginning teachers depends on a number of factors, including the accuracy of licensure tests in distinguishing between those who would be competent and those who would not; the actual and perceived opportunity costs to applicants of licensure testing, the level of teachers' salaries and working conditions, 115
From page 116...
... The counterfactual, in which passing a test is not a requirement for licensure, assumes that in the absence of a licensure test the hiring practices of school districts would lead to a teacher work force with a higher proportion of "unqualified" teachers.2 As already noted, teacher licensure testing is intended to distinguish between those who are competent to enter the classroom in terms of the skills measured by the test and those who are not. Ideally, tests would do this, as in other professions, by limiting the supply of teachers only to those who are competent.
From page 117...
... The direct cost of a licensure test, as well as the opportunity cost that arises in the case of failure, makes the teaching occupation less attractive relative to alternative occupations than it would be in the absence of a test.7 In general, if all else is equal, the greater the cost that licensure tests impose on teacher candidates, the smaller will be the supply of both potentially competent and potentially incompetent teachers. Due to errors in measurement, tests are not perfectly accurate and reliable.
From page 118...
... A perfect test would discourage only incompetent individuals from entering the teaching occupation. In that case the supply of beginning teachers would all be competent, although the number of competent individuals who choose to enter teaching will be reduced if the direct costs of the test are substantial.l° An imperfect test discourages both incompetent and competent individuals from choosing teaching.
From page 119...
... Raising the passing score will tend to reduce the supply of both competent and incompetent teachers, as a higher proportion of both are labeled by the test as incompetent and as the perceived cost rises. Since passing scores are continually raised, it becomes more and more likely that the supply of competent teachers will decrease more than the supply of incompetent teachers because fewer incompetent people presumably score at higher levels.
From page 120...
... However, if a test is highly accurate, so that almost all teachers who pass it are competent, and if it is of low cost, so that the attractiveness of teaching is not unduly adversely affected, the resulting increase in wages will reflect the true scarcity of competent teachers. Furthermore, as described above, the combined effect of the test on supply and demand will be to increase the number of competent beginning teachers and thus to increase student learning.
From page 121...
... As discussed in Chapter 3, though, almost all states permit waivers of their licensure rules to allow school districts to hire teachers on an emergency basis under certain circumstances. To the extent that those waivers are used, the restriction that licensure tests impose on the supply of teachers will be loosened and the effects discussed above will be mitigated (i.e., the potential gains from accurate licensure testing will be reduced as might be the potential losses from inaccurate and costly testing)
From page 122...
... Finally, the search criteria were expanded to include research on the relationship between teacher performance and tests of the content domains currently measured by teacher licensure tests. This approach yielded additional information and expanded the committee's analysis to include research that might inform questions about the relationship between performance on teacher licensure tests and teacher competence (Ehrenberg and Brewer, 1995; Ferguson and Ladd, 1996; Bassham, 1962; Rothman, 1969; Begle, 1972; Rowan et al., 1997; Clary, 1972~.
From page 123...
... with respect to unmeasured inputs that influence student achievement is circumvented with such data. However, it may still be true that teacher assignments within districts, or even schools, are related to student achievement that is due to unmeasured inputs or student abilities, and such nonrandom assignment would again confound the effect of teacher test scores.
From page 124...
... Because candidates who fail licensure tests generally are ineligible for licensure and employment as classroom teachers, job performance information is unavailable for them. However, the fact that unlicensed individuals are now hired in relatively large numbers by private schools and by public schools on an emergency basis makes possible the collection of job performance information for candidates scoring below passing
From page 125...
... Table 6.1 describes for each study the measure of teacher performance used by the researchers. Eleven of the studies used student achievement tests as measures of teacher competence; all reported student test results on a continuous scale.
From page 126...
... 126 TESTING TEACHER CANDIDATES TABLE 6.1 Research on Tests of Teachers and Teaching Outcomes Outcome Variables Other Variables Baseline Teacher Student Student Evaluation Other Achieve- Other Family Achievement by Teacher Teacher ment Student School Vari Study Measure Principal Test Variables Measure Variables Variables ables Basic Skills or General Knowledge St Ehrenberg Verbal and Verbal ~ ~ ~ ~ Sc and Brewer nonverbal aptitude test (1995) test, reading (test name and math test not (test names provided)
From page 127...
... ; only 35 schools (of 690) with full data for teachers District 127 school Positive and stastically districts significant results for students' math test scores continues
From page 128...
... and Abstract Algebra Inventory (Form C) Pedagogical Knowledge ~7 ~7 ~7 , Clary Science Inventory of ~ Te (1972)
From page 129...
... Positive and statistically significant for above average, but not below average, students Teacher All 51 high Within Canonical Positive and statistically students school academic correlation significant relationship of par- physics year between teachers' test scores ticipating teachers and students' scores teachers randomly (number selected of from a list students of 17,000 not provided) Teacher Teachers 308 Within a Multiple Significant positive but from math calendar regression modest relationship between across the teachers year teachers' test scores and country students' understanding of who par- algebra, but not for student ticipated achievement in National Science Foundation summer institutes and grade 9 students Teacher Most (23 23 grade of 25)
From page 130...
... Di ined by current teacher licensure tests: (a) basic skills and general knowledge, (b)
From page 131...
... Tests of Basic Skills and General Knowledge Three sets of researchers examined the relationships between teachers' performance on basic skills or general knowledge tests and student achievement: Ehrenberg and Brewer (1995) , Ferguson (1991)
From page 132...
... also found positive relationships between teachers' performance on basic skills tests and student achievement, though results varied for elementary and high school students and by students' racial/ethnic status. Subject Matter Knowledge Research has also examined the relationships between teachers' subject matter knowledge and their competence.
From page 133...
... The authors included data on six inputs in their examination of these relationships; they looked at the number of teachers in each of 145 school districts, the number of students per district, the number of high school students interested in postsecondary education in each district, the racial/ethnic composition of the schools, the value of the districts' capital stock, and teachers' test scores. A modest positive and statistically significant relationship was found between district average NTE scores and student test scores.
From page 134...
... These include data on the relationships between test results and other measures of candidate knowledge and skill and data on the extent to which licensure tests distinguish minimally competent candidates from those who are not. The committee also described several licensing and employment conditions that permit observations of job performance for candidates who fail licensing tests.
From page 135...
... To the extent that the tests provide accurate measurements, setting higher passing scores would be expected to increase the proportion of teacher candidates in the hiring pool who are competent in the knowledge and skills measured by the tests, although higher passing scores will tend to lower the number of candidates who pass the tests. To the extent that test scores have measurement error, setting higher passing scores could eliminate competent candidates.


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