兰德-Examining-the-Early-Impacts-of-the-Leading-Educators-Fellowship-on-Student-Achievement-and-Teacher-Retention_63页_1mb

Summary of the Leading Educators Fellowship Program Evaluation

Core Content

This report presents the preliminary findings of a multiyear evaluation of the Leading Educators (LE) Fellowship program on student achievement and teacher retention in Louisiana and Missouri during the 2011-2012 to 2013-2014 school years. The program aims to develop mid-career teachers into instructional mentors and school improvement leaders, with the ultimate goal of improving student achievement and retaining high-quality teachers in high-need schools.

Main Objectives of the LE Fellowship Program

• Increase leadership skills and capacity of teacher leaders to improve student achievement in high-need schools.
• Retain highly effective teachers in high-need schools by encouraging commitment and improving the school leadership pipeline.

Program Structure

Fellowship Training

• A two-year training program includes:
  • A one-week summer intensive training session.
  • One-on-one leadership coaching.
  • Professional development sessions.
  • Site visits to exemplary high-need schools.
  • Problem-solving community meetings.
  • An action-learning project where fellows design and implement initiatives with mentee teachers.

Mentoring Activities

• Fellows begin mentoring in the fall of their first year.
• They select mentees based on their leadership role and identified needs.
• Mentoring activities include:
  • Coaching.
  • Observation and feedback.
  • Grade-level meetings.
  • Problem-solving communities.

Key Findings

Student Achievement

• Mixed and inconclusive results were found for the impact of the LE Fellowship program on student achievement.
• Only one statistically significant positive effect was observed: improved mathematics achievement in Louisiana.
• Results varied by state, subject, and model specification.
• Small sample sizes limited the reliability of findings for fellows.

Mentee Teachers

• Larger sample sizes allowed for more nuanced analysis of mentee teachers.
• Marginal and significant positive effects were observed for math and social studies in Louisiana.
• No significant effects were found in Missouri for reading or mathematics, and in Louisiana for reading or science.
• Adjusting for multiple hypothesis testing eliminated the statistical significance of the positive effects observed in Louisiana.

Teacher Retention

• The impact on teacher retention was unclear.
• Some cohorts showed higher retention rates for mentees, while others showed lower rates.
• The variability suggests the need for larger sample sizes and more comprehensive methodologies to detect consistent patterns.

Methodology

• Three complementary methods were used to estimate program impacts:
  1. Comparison with denied applicants.
  2. Propensity score matching based on teacher and student characteristics.
  3. Matching on prior instructional effectiveness.
• These methods aimed to control for confounding variables and provide a robust analysis of the program's early effects.

Limitations and Recommendations

• Small sample sizes limited the ability to draw definitive conclusions.
• Unobserved characteristics may have influenced the results, particularly for fellows.
• Future analyses with larger samples are needed to better detect program effects.
• Additional evidence is required to confirm the positive impacts observed in Louisiana mentees.

Conclusion

While the LE Fellowship program shows potential for improving student achievement and teacher retention, especially in Louisiana, the early findings are mixed and inconclusive. The program's leadership-focused training may have different impacts based on context, subject, and model specification. A more comprehensive evaluation with larger datasets and better control for external factors is recommended to fully assess the program's effectiveness.

Key Information

• Founded in 2008, the LE Fellowship program was modeled on the Teaching Leaders program in London.
• Eligibility criteria include:
  • At least two years of teaching experience.
  • Teaching in schools with at least 70% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.
  • Formal or informal responsibility for at least two faculty members.
  • Evidence of effectiveness from classroom observations or student achievement gains.
• Application process involves:
  • Online application and letter of recommendation.
  • 30-minute formal observation.
  • Interview and assessment day with multiple trained assessors.
• Data sources include:
  • LE program data (applications, mentee assignments).
  • State administrative data on students and teachers.
• Analytical methods include:
  • Propensity score matching.
  • Power analysis.
  • Comparison with denied applicants.

Future Directions

• Larger sample sizes will improve the statistical power of the analysis.
• More nuanced investigations of program effects during and after participation are needed.
• Further research is critical to determine whether the LE Fellowship program can achieve its intended goals of improving student achievement and teacher retention in high-need schools.