Teacher Certification Study

Much debate and uncertainty surrounds the issue of teacher quality; for years researchers have struggled to identify the qualities that define effective teachers. States, school districts and much of the public have come to consider teacher certification as the surest sign of a teacher's quality. Proponents of teacher certification claim that "hundreds of studies" justify their view that students of certified teachers learn more than students of uncertified teachers.

One consequence of this interpretation of teacher quality, cemented by state regulations and policies, is that teachers who are uncertified are ineligible to teach in public schools except as a provisional basis, no matter what other professional strengths and skills they may possess. Most private schools, in contrast, are uninterested in a teacher's certification status, concentrating on other credentials.

In an unprecedented exercise, The Abell Foundation reviewed every one of the "hundreds of studies" (which in actuality turned out to be about 150) cited by advocates of teacher certification to assess the merits of that evidence. The report, "Teacher Certification Reconsidered: Stumbling for Quality," reveals deficiencies found either in the original studies themselves or in how they were cited by advocates as proof of certification's value. The report argues that most of the studies had serious flaws, and that some of the research has been misquoted and misinterpreted.

The report concludes that there is no evidence to support a nationwide policy barring uncertified teachers from the public school classroom; and that it is a teacher's verbal ability, measured by short vocabulary tests, that is a stronger indicator of a teacher's quality. The Abell Foundation's findings received national recognition, including publication of an abridged version of the study in the national journal Education Next.