The Predictive Validity of Teacher Candidate Letters of Reference

Letters of reference are widely used as an essential part of the hiring process of newly licensed teachers. While the predictive validity of these letters of reference has been called into question it has never been empirically studied. The current study examined the predictive validity of the quality of letters of reference for forty-one student teachers in relation to their attainment of full time employment and performance during their first year of teaching. Results indicated that while letter quality was predictive of whether or not full-time employment was obtained, it was not predictive of performance during the first year of teaching. Findings also suggest that hiring practices should be re-examined and additional measures of teacher quality should be incorporated to increase teacher excellence in schools