What about teacher certification?
Published: Mon, 07/05/10
Some ask the
following: Even if your definitions are correct, does it not require a
professionally trained, state-licensed teacher to properly and effectively
instruct children and youth in fields such as reading, language, mathematics,
and arts?
You might be
surprised at the answer. Consider first the research evidence about teaching
and student academic achievement within the institutional public (state) school
realm. Here it is, put succinctly, by researcher Dr. Herbert Walberg: "Overall,
it appears that certified teachers perform very little or no better than those
who are uncertified." (reference 1) Researchers Goldhaber and Brewer write it
this way: "Although teacher certification is pervasive, there is little
rigorous evidence that it is systematically related to student achievement."(2)
Further, investigators Buddin and Zamarro recently revealed that "...measured
teacher characteristics explain little of the difference" in students' scores.
(3)
Research on
home-educated students suggests the same thing. In our most-recent nationwide
study, we found the following: "... whether either parent
has ever been a certified teacher explains less than one-tenth of 1% of the
variance in test scores." Hold on, however: homeschool students having neither
parent ever certified performed slightly better! (4)
Simply put: Even in the public school system,
researchers have a hard time finding any significant evidence that
university-school-of-education training and state licensing are related to
public school students' achievement in reading, writing, and arithmetic and
other academic fields. Furthermore, there is no evidence that teacher
certification is related to home-educated students' learning.
This is the
kind of research information that is often needed in courts and legislatures to
make sure sound decisions and policy are made.Thank you for helping us keep
track of this research at NHERI.
Brian D. Ray, P.h.D.
National Home Education Research Institute
P.S. Please feel free to send us your
questions about homeschooling and we will try to answer them in upcoming
messages.
NHERI, PO Box 13939, Salem OR 97309, USA
References:
1. Walberg, Herbert J. (2010). Advancing
student achievement. Stanford, CA: Education Next Books, Hoover Institution
Press. p. 61.
2. Goldhaber, Dan D., & Brewer, Dominic J. (2000, Summer). Does
teacher certification matter? High school teacher certification status and
student achievement. Educational
Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 22(2), 129-145, p. 141.
3. Buddin, Richard, & Zamarro, Gema. (2009, May). Teacher qualifications and student
achievement in urban elementary schools. Santa Monica, CA: RAND
Corporation.
4. Ray, Brian
D. (2010, February 3). Academic achievement and demographic traits of homeschool
students: A nationwide study. Academic
Leadership Journal, 8(1). Retrieved February 10, 2010 from http://www.academicleadership.org/emprical_research/Academic_Achievement_and_Demographic_Traits_of_Homeschool_Students_A_Nationwide_Study.shtml.