How do Teacher Working Conditions Relate to Student Achievem

Data Collection

Research Design

Charter School Correlation Matrix

Low SES Elementary Correlation Matrix

Results - Secondary

Results - Elementary

Low SES Secondary Algebra Correlation Matrix

I used stratified random sampling to identify the subjects (schools) in my study. I originally selected 30 schools within each of 5 categories to include in the study:

1. High SES elementary schools (<20% ED)

2. Low SES elementary schools (>80% ED)

3. High SES secondary schools (<20% ED)

4. Low SES secondary schools (>80% ED)

5. Charter Schools

Because some schools lacked sufficient data in one more more areas, 139 schools were included in the final study.

Student achievement data was collected for each school from the 2011-2012 school year using the NC School Report Card website.

Teacher working conditions data was collected for each school from 2012 using the NC Teacher Working Conditions survey website.

I conducted a quantitative correlational study to investigate the central research question:

Is there a correlation between teacher working conditions and student achievement in North Carolina Public Schools?

- Null hypothesis used

Student achievement was defined as performance on standardized EOG and EOC tests.

Teacher working conditions was divided into 5 categories based on questions from the annual Teacher Working Conditions Survey: Teacher-Administrator Trust, Administration Support, Effective Professional Development, Teacher Autonomy, and Overall School Atmosphere.

Bivariate correlations were run on each category of working conditions and then a multivariate correlation was run combining all elements of teacher working conditions as they relate to student achievement. All statistical tests were run using SPSS software.

Low SES Elementary:

Bivariate correlations: Moderate, positive correlation found for all factors of TWC except effective PD - strongest correlation was found between student achievement and overall school atmosphere.

Multivariate correlations: Indicate 39.3% of the variance in student achievement can be explained by the five factors of working conditions. Teacher-Admin trust was the most powerful predictor of variability in EOG pass rate.

High SES Elementary:

Bivariate correlations: Weak, negative correlation found for all factors of TWC. The relationship was not statistically significant for any factors.

No multiple regression was run.

Low SES Secondary:

Bivariate correlations: Moderate, positive correlations found between the Alg 1 EOC and all factors of TWC with the strongest relationship between achievement and teacher autonomy. For the English EOC, a moderate positive correlation was found with only 3 factors, trust, autonomy, and school atmosphere.

Multivariate correlations: Indicate that 46% of the variability in English EOC pass rates, and 45.5% of the variability in Algebra EOC pass rates can be explained by differences in the five factors of TWC. For Algebra, teacher autonomy was the strongest predictors of achievement. For English, teacher-admin trust was the strongest predictor.

High SES Secondary:

Bivariate correlations: Moderate, positive correlation found between achievement on the Algebra EOC and 3 factors of TWC: administration support, trust, and effective PD. No statistically significant relationship were found between TWC and student achievement for the English EOC.

Multivariate correlations: Up to 60.5% of the variability in Algebra pass rates may be explained by TWC factors, with admin support as the strongest predictor.

High SES Elementary Correlation Matrix

Low SES Secondary English Correlation Matrix

Results - Charter

Correlation tests were run for both EOCs and EOGs for the charter school sample. The only statistically significant correlation was found between student achievement on the EOC and effective professional development.

Implications

What does it all mean?

Limitations and Next Steps...

So what now?

Evidence of a relationship impacts all schools, but particularly for low SES schools. Improvements in TWC have the potential to impact student achievement.

• Trust and Admin support emerged as important predictors of student achievement
• Teacher Autonomy, especially at the secondary level should be addressed
• Professional Development was not as significant other factors despite more direct connection to teaching practices
• These areas can be addressed locally with minimal costs compared to other initiatives.

• Relatively small sample size for each school demographic population.
• Limited number of high income elementary schools
• Charter schools were eliminated due to low survey response rates, smaller group size.
• Measures are proxies for the larger constructs of teacher working conditions and student achievement.
• A more qualitative approach would add context and deeper meaning to the data.

Topic Selection & Rationale

Questions?

• NC public schools administer an annual working conditions survey to all public school teachers K-12.

• There is a major political and media focus on student data, but little appears to be made of working conditions data.

Key Findings

• Is there evidence of a relationship between the two?

Literature Review

References

• Moderate to strong, positive correlations were found between the factors of TWC and student achievement on standardized testing at a statistically significant level.
• Differences were observed between high and low SES schools, as well as elementary and secondary schools. (TWC results were not significantly different)
• Lower SES schools, at both grade levels, demonstrated stronger relationships between TWC factors and student achievement.
• A correlation was found for teacher-administrator trust and administration support across the low SES samples.
• Teacher-admin trust was a strong predictor of variation at both the elementary and secondary level, while teacher autonomy emerged as a significant predictor only at the secondary level.
• Charter schools, regardless of grade level, displayed little evidence of a relationship between working conditions and achievement.
• Professional Development only demonstrated a strong relationship with high SES Algebra EOC scores and charter schools.

• Key Findings from previous research:
• Teacher satisfaction has dropped from 59% to 44% between 2009 and 2012.
• 60% of teachers who leave the profession cite working conditions as the main reason for leaving.
• Johnson and Stevens (2006) found that school climate was a better predictor of student success than SES.
• Johnson, Kraft and Papay (2012) further hypothesize that lower achievement seen in low SES schools may actually be a product of relatively poor working conditions in such schools.
• Supportive school leadership, teacher empowerment, and collegial school culture have been found to be more significant to teacher retention than salary or access to supplies and technology (Hanshek & Rivkin, 2007).

Hanushek, E.A., & Rivkin, S.G. (2007). Pay, working conditions, and teacher quality. The Future of Children, 17(1), 69-84.

Johnson, S.M., Kraft, M.A., & Papay, J.P. (2012). How context matters in high need schools: The effects of teacher’s working conditions on their professional satisfaction and their student’s achievement. Teachers College Record, 114, 1-39.

Johnson, B.J., & Stevens, J.J. (2006). Student achievement and elementary teachers’ perceptions of school climate. Learning Environment Research, 9, 111-122.

MetLife. (2012). Metlife survey of the American teacher finds decreased teacher satisfaction, increased parent engagement amid economic uncertainty [Press release]. Retrieved from: https://www.metlife.com/about/press-room/index.html?compID=79162

How do Teacher Working Conditions Relate to Student Achievement?

Susan Lawton

Meredith College

Graduate Research Conference