Project Background
March 2008
This web site was established in 2008 to report on a timely basis research done in conjunction with a three-year research project on the preparation, recruitment, selection, retention, and professional development of Pennsylvania's classroom teachers as these factors relate to the academic achievement of Pennsylvania public school students. This research project is being performed at the request of the Pennsylvania State Board of Education [link to state board letter] and under the guidance of a Reading Committee established by the State Board. It is designed to answer the following research questions:
- Did the teacher preparation/certification reforms enacted in 1999 and 2000 [we need to scan, upload, and insert the regulations for 354 with a hot link here] result in changes to those who enter and complete teacher preparation programs?
- Did these reforms produce teachers of higher quality than were produced under the previous policy?
- Did the reforms produce teachers who had a positive impact on student achievement?
- Did the reforms impact employment procedures and practices of school districts?
The research undertaken to answer these questions involves the analysis of many of the administrative records of the Pennsylvania Department of Education and other public agencies, and builds on an earlier reseearch monograph for the Pennsylvania State Boad of Education. [we need a footnote and link to the 1998 report]. It has been conducted under signed confidentiality agreements between the agencies supplying the electronic records and The Project.
Financial support from the Heinz Endowments and the William Penn Foundation is gratefully acknowledged.
The research reported in the forthcoming Technical Report Series[footnote, hot link to list of Technical Report papers] is intended to inform the Reading Committee of the State Board of Education and to be of broader interest to those interested in the efficacy of public education. As is traditional in social-science research, the authors of the research take responsibility for the research and any possible errors therein, and they state that the findings and conclusions contained in each Technical Paper are their own responsibility and do not reflect the views of the Pennsylvania State Board of Education, Carnegie Mellon University, The Board of Trustees of Carnegie Mellon, The Heinz Endowments, and/or the William Penn Foundation.
Robert P. Strauss
Project Director
March 25, 2008