Special Education Teacher Quality and Student Achievement Li Feng Tim R. Sass Dept. of Finance & Econ.Dept. of Economics Texas State UniversityFlorida State University

Achievement of Students with Disabilities Policy Relevance 14 percent of public school students have disabilities Achievement gap between students with disabilities and their typical peers widens as they move into higher grades 13 percent of schools that do not meet AYP standards fail solely because they have not achieved standards set for their students with disabilities

Prior Related Literature Teacher Training and Student Achievement in the General Student Population Pre-service Training College Major/Coursework of Teachers  Betts, Zau and Rice (2003)  Aaronson, et al. (2007)  Harris and Sass (2008) Teach for America  Boyd, et al. (2006)  Kane, Rockoff and Staiger (2006)  Xu, Hannaway and Taylor (2008)

Prior Related Literature Teacher Training and Student Achievement in the General Student Population Pre-Service Training Other “Alternative Certification” Programs  Sass (2008)  Constantine, et al. (2009) Generally Find no Advantage for Education Majors/Traditionally Prepared Teachers in Promoting Student Achievement

Prior Related Literature Teacher Training and Student Achievement in the General Student Population In-Service Training Jacob and Lefgren (2004)  Exogenously imposed professional development had no significant effects on teacher effectiveness in math or reading Harris and Sass (2008)  Inconsistent evidence on effects of current and prior professional development course taking by teachers on student achievement

Prior Related Literature Special Education Teacher Training and Classroom Practice Sindelar, Daunic and Reynolds (2004) Graduates of a traditional special education teacher preparation program scored higher on measures of classroom performance and principal ratings than teachers from alternative certification programs Nougaret, Scruggs and Mastropieri (2005) Traditionally licensed special education teachers better than emergency licensed teachers on several dimensions, including planning and preparation, classroom environment and instruction

Econometric Model and Estimation Strategies Standard “Gain Score” Value-Added Model with Student Covariates Include indicators for deciles of prior achievement level to deal with non-linearities and floor effects

Econometric Model and Estimation Strategies Challenges for Value-Added Modeling of Students with Disabilities Determining Teacher(s) Responsible for Instruction Students may be taking both regular education and special education classes in a subject Students can have multiple regular-education-course teachers and multiple special-education-course teachers

Course Taking Patterns of Students with Disabilities in Math by Grade Level, 2004/05 – Percent by Category

Course Taking Patterns of Students with Disabilities in Reading by Grade Level, 2004/05 – Percent by Category

Econometric Model and Estimation Strategies Challenges for Value-Added Modeling of Students with Disabilities Course Selection is Endogenous Students with more significant disabilities more likely to be in special education courses  Combining students in different settings is problematic if student ability is not completely accounted for

Student Characteristics by Math Course Taking Pattern, 99/00-04/05 Achievement Level And Disability Type Only Reg. Ed. Courses Only Sp. Ed. Courses Reg. Ed. and Sp. Ed. Courses ( Normed) Achievement Speech/Lang. Dis Specific Learning Dis Intellectual Dis Physical Dis Emotional Dis Other Dis

Econometric Model and Estimation Strategies To Address Dual Problems of Multiple Teachers and Endogenous Course Selection, Estimate Value-Added Models for Three Sub-samples of Students Students taking one or more regular education courses in subject from a single teacher and no special education courses Students taking one or more special education courses in subject from a single teacher and no regular education courses Students taking one or more regular education courses in subject from a single teacher and one or more special education courses in subject from a single teacher

Sample for Analysis All Students in Florida Receiving Exceptional Education Services (Other Than Gifted) With at Least One Achievement Gain Score Grades 4-10 Math and Reading FCAT-NRT Exam (Stanford Achievement Exam) 2000/ /05 Sample restricted to: Students with at most one regular ed. and one special ed. instructor in subject Classes with a single “primary instructor”

Effects of Teacher Experience on Student Achievement Gains by Math Course Taking Pattern, 99/00-04/05 Course/Teacher and Experience LevelOnly Reg. Ed. Courses Only Sp. Ed. CoursesReg. Ed. and Sp. Ed. Courses Regular Ed. Teacher 1-2 Years *** (5.84) ** (2.17) 3-4 Years *** (4.68) *** (3.25) 5-9 Years *** (7.11) ** (2.28) Special Ed. Teacher 1-2 Years ** (2.23) * (1.66) 3-4 Years * (1.92) (1.31) 5-9 Years *** (2.77) ** (2.29)

Effects of Teacher Experience on Student Achievement Gains by Reading Course Taking Pattern, 99/00-04/05 Course/Teacher and Experience LevelOnly Reg. Ed. Courses Only Sp. Ed. CoursesReg. Ed. and Sp. Ed. Courses Regular Ed. Teacher 1-2 Years *** (4.11) (0.57) 3-4 Years ** (2.20) * (1.93) 5-9 Years *** (4.24) (1.40) Special Ed. Teacher 1-2 Years *** (3.50) (1.11) 3-4 Years ** (2.41) (0.45) 5-9 Years ** (2.43) ** (2.31)

Effects of Teacher Sp. Ed. PD on Student Achievement Gains by Math Course Taking Pattern, 99/00-04/05 Course/Teacher and Timing of Professional Development Only Reg. Ed. Courses Only Sp. Ed. Courses Reg. Ed. and Sp. Ed. Courses Reg. Ed. Teacher - Year t (0.051) (0.01) - Year t (0.30) (1.29) - Year t (0.85) (1.32) - Year t (1.54) (0.09) Special Ed. Teacher - Year t (0.39) (1.29) - Year t (0.72) (0.06) - Year t * (1.69) (0.99) - Year t (1.56) (0.99)

Effects of Teacher Sp. Ed. PD on Student Achievement Gains by Reading Course Taking Pattern, 99/00-04/05 Course/Teacher and Timing of Professional Development Only Reg. Ed. Courses Only Sp. Ed. Courses Reg. Ed. and Sp. Ed. Courses Reg. Ed. Teacher - Year t (1.53) (1.25) - Year t (0.28) (0.31) - Year t * (1.74) (0.26) - Year t *** (3.34) (0.16) Special Ed. Teacher - Year t (0.05) (0.07) - Year t (0.18) (0.25) - Year t (1.32) ** (2.14) - Year t (0.30) (1.14)

Effects of Teacher Adv. Degrees on Student Achievement Gains by Math Course Taking Pattern, 99/00-04/05 Course/TeacherOnly Reg. Ed. Courses Only Sp. Ed. CoursesReg. Ed. and Sp. Ed. Courses Regular Ed. Teacher Advanced Degree *** (3.01) (0.61) Special Ed. Teacher Advanced Degree * (1.77) * (1.74)

Effects of Teacher Adv. Degrees on Student Achievement Gains by Reading Course Taking Pattern, 99/00-04/05 Course/TeacherOnly Reg. Ed. Courses Only Sp. Ed. CoursesReg. Ed. and Sp. Ed. Courses Regular Ed. Teacher Advanced Degree (1.05) (0.64) Special Ed. Teacher Advanced Degree * (1.80) (0.05)

Effects of Certification Status on Student Achievement Gains by Math Course Taking Pattern, 99/00-04/05 Course/Teacher and Certification Status Only Reg. Ed. Courses Only Sp. Ed. CoursesReg. Ed. and Sp. Ed. Courses Regular Ed. Teacher Professional Cert *** (3.01) (0.80) Sp. Ed. Cert (0.04) (1.58) Special Ed. Teacher Professional Cert (0.84) * (1.78) Sp. Ed. Cert (0.35) ** (2.47)

Effects of Certification Status on Student Achievement Gains by Reading Course Taking Pattern, 99/00-04/05 Course/Teacher and Certification Status Only Reg. Ed. Courses Only Sp. Ed. CoursesReg. Ed. and Sp. Ed. Courses Regular Ed. Teacher Professional Cert *** (2.90) ** (2.20) Sp. Ed. Cert (0.89) * (1.81) Special Ed. Teacher Professional Cert (1.02) (0.83) Sp. Ed. Cert * (1.91) *** (4.40)

Effects of Exc. Child Ed. Credits on Student Achievement Gains by Math Course Taking Pattern, 99/00-04/05 Course/TeacherOnly Reg. Ed. Courses Only Sp. Ed. CoursesReg. Ed. and Sp. Ed. Courses Regular Ed. Teacher Exceptional Child Ed. Credits ** (2.57) (0.21) First BA – Special Ed * (1.93) (0.02) Special Ed. Teacher Exceptional Child Ed. Credits (0.99) * (1.65) First BA – Special Ed (0.04) (1.31)

Effects of Exc. Child Ed. Credits on Student Achievement Gains by Reading Course Taking Pattern, 99/00-04/05 Course/TeacherOnly Reg. Ed. Courses Only Sp. Ed. CoursesReg. Ed. and Sp. Ed. Courses Regular Ed. Teacher Exceptional Child Ed. Credits (1.32) (0.60) First BA – Special Ed ** (2.07) (1.04) Special Ed. Teacher Exceptional Child Ed. Credits (0.22) ** (2.29) First BA – Special Ed (1.08) ** (2.35)

Summary of Findings Returns to teacher experience generally smaller in special education courses, particularly in math Little evidence that professional development in special ed. makes teachers more effective Possible exception – regular education reading courses Attainment of advanced degrees associated with higher value-added in math Contrary to typical findings in general student population

Summary of Findings Special education certification associated with greater learning gains of students in special education courses, particularly in reading Other measures of pre-service preparation of teachers of special education courses, including hours of coursework and attainment of a bachelor’s degree in special education, also show positive correlation between with student achievement gains