CARNALAN, Nadazhda Nikita E.

February 7, 2017
NACPIL, Precious Ann Marie F. PSYE404a - 1:00 4:00 JFH304

Title: Teacher Classroom Practices and Student Performance:

How Schools Can Make a Difference
Abstract: Quantitative studies of school effects have generally supported the notion that the
problems of U.S. education lie outside of the school. Yet such studies neglect the primary venue
through which students learn, the classroom. The current study explores the link between
classroom practices and student academic performance by applying multilevel modeling to the
1996 National Assessment of Educational Progress in mathematics. The study finds that the
effects of classroom practices, when added to those of other teacher characteristics, are
comparable in size to those of student background, suggesting that teachers can contribute as
much to student learning as the students themselves.
Author/s: Harold Wenglinsky
Educational Testing Service
Summary:
The study seeks to enclose the gap and bring clarity in the difference between the
knowledge and attitudes a student has before he enters the classroom and after leaving the
classroom as the interaction between teachers and students in the classroom is greater than the
sum of its parts that is rarely magnified in quantitative researches. The researcher hypothesizes
that the problems of the education in the United States (U.S.) can also be rooted in the main
venue of the learning activities, the classroom. Specifically, the study tried two hypotheses
concerning the quality of teachers which includes these three aspects: the teachers classroom
practices, the professional development the teacher receives in support of these practices, and
characteristics of the teacher external to the classroom. The first hypothesis is that with the
abovementioned aspects of a teachers quality, the practices in the classroom will have a great
effect on students academic performances for the decisions made within the four corners of the
classroom will surely affect a students output even though an educators input would be least,
and would be more focused on motivational aspects of the teaching, still the practices inside the
room affects an output to the extent of what the students know to be expected of them as they are
bound to written and unwritten norms and rules in the room. Second, is that the qualities of a
teacher is strongly bonded to a students academic performance as student background
characteristics. Qualitative researches have suggested that the interactions within the classroom
results to students learning.
To examine the mentioned hypotheses, the researcher used National Assessment of
Educational Progress (NAEP) test which can measure all three aspects of the quality of an
educator. Furthermore, The NAEP does not only cover specific subjects but also includes
questionnaires about the background of the principal and the teacher to be completed by a
student taking the assessment. 7,146 from Eighth grades that took a 1996 mathematics NAEP
assessment were analyzed. The three aspects of teacher quality are measured from a background
questionnaire, completed by the mathematics teacher. Three teacher inputs are measured: the
teachers education level, whether the teacher majored or minored in the relevant subject area
(mathematics or math education), and the teachers years of experience and the students
academic performance was measured using the results of the assessment itself.
Summarizing what the NAEP data reveal about the prevalence of classroom practices,
professional development, and teacher inputs shows that the data on teacher inputs indicates that
eighth-grade math teachers are most likely to possess less than a masters degree, have majored
or minored in mathematics or math education, and have 10 or more years of experience teaching.
Additionally, the data on professional development indicate that while most teachers receive
some professional development in some topics certain topics were utterly neglected.
Furthermore, the similarities in the classroom policies greatly varied. Nearly all students use a
textbook at least once a week, and most do some homework every day, half of the all the students
took advance lessons on future topics, few worked in groups, and textbooks are everywhere in
their classrooms.
By the use of multilevel structural equation modeling (MSEM) the gathered data was
analyzed to measure the effectiveness of the abovementioned qualities in students academic
performance. The results of the study showed that various aspects of teacher quality are related
to the students academic achievements when class size and socioeconomic status are taken into
account. In particular, the following five variables are positively associated with achievement:
Teacher major, Professional development in higher-order thinking skills, Professional
development in diversity, Hand-on learning, and lastly, Higher-order thinking skills. The research
confirmed the relationship and effect of teaching on student learning, the study also uncovered
important interrelationships among the aspects of teaching particularly the effects of professional
development in different practices inside the classroom.

In conclusion, the five variables that rose to be positively associated with a students academic
performance would not be visible and measureable if academes lack a critical mass of active
teachers and the students will be not be able to meet high academic standards than their talents
and home resources will allow. But schools that do have a critical mass of active teachers can
actually provide a value-added; they can help their students reach higher levels of academic
performance than those students otherwise would reach. Through their teachers, then, schools
can be the key mechanism for helping students meet high standards.