A comprehensive study of the relationships between teacher characteristics and value-added to student achievement

The purpose of this exploratory research study was to investigate the relationships between teacher characteristics and value-added to student achievement as measured by the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS). The research was conducted at 31 charter schools operated by Mosaica Education, Inc. Each school is a K-8 charter that follows an identical curricular model that is standard to all Mosaica-managed schools. The research was conducted in four phases and included both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods. Phase I was a quantitative assessment of teacher value-added across all of the Mosaica schools. Phase II involved qualitative interviews of nine of the top and bottom teachers (as measured by their value-added scores) to understand their attitudes and beliefs about teaching and what characteristics they believe make strong teachers. Phase III involved the development and administration of a survey across all Mosaica schools and teachers in order to measure these teacher attitudes, beliefs, and characteristics across the wider population. Phase IV used correlation and regression analyses to link teacher characteristics from the survey results to value-added scores for the entire sample of teachers in order to quantify the strength of relationships between each attitude, belief, and characteristic and teacher value-added. The results of the study identified several statistically significant correlations between several teacher characteristics and value-added to student achievement, including teacher attitudes and beliefs and teaching experience. The results of this study show that indicators of teacher preparation and qualifications do not predict value-added, but teacher experience and several teacher attitudes and beliefs are significant predictors of teacher value-added to student performance. The dissertation concludes with a discussion of study limitations and recommendations for future research