Tiffany Katanyoutanant and Yuan-Ling Liaw University of Washington College of Education

1. What Does My Teacher Have to Do with College? A Quantitative Analysis of the Relationship Between Teacher Qualifications and Students’ Higher Education Attainment Rates • Tiffany Katanyoutanant and Yuan-Ling Liaw • University of Washington College of Education BACKGROUND • LIMITATIONS • Only one year of education attainment rates • OSPI data on teacher characteristics only presented for 2004-05 and 2003-04 • Data limited to that collected by Washington OSPI – other variables may be of significance • Need further qualitative study to understand why variables are not significant • * * as;dlkfja;lskdjf • National and state-level focus on college attainment rates – “global knowledge economy” requires college education (Lumina Foundation, 2009) • Washington State continues to experience gaps in postsecondary education enrollment rates across race/ethnicity categories • American Indian/Alaska Natives and Hispanic students enroll in lower rates compared to peers • Also pressing issue due to growth of Hispanic student population within Washington • Focus on teacher characteristics as they relate to student outcomes (e.g. Choi, 2010; Clotfelter, Ladd, & Vigdor, 2007; Oakes, Mendoza, & Silver, 2004) • Examine how teacher characteristics are correlated with students’ higher education attainment rates • Discuss implications for state policies regarding teacher assignment/distribution, as well as for teacher incentives • STUDY RATIONALE • Teacher characteristics found to be correlated to student achievement (Darling-Hammond, 2000) • College enrollment tied to students’ capital and background factors (e.g. Perna & Thomas, 2008), but also to school factors (Perna, 2006; Oakes et al., 2004) • Focus on teacher characteristics as part of school-level factors that are correlated with positive student outcomes • Teacher experience (Clotfelter et al., 2007) • Teachers with master’s degrees (Jacob, 2007) • Teacher licensure and certification (Darling-Hammond, 2000) • * * as;dlkfja;lskdjf DISCUSSION • Average years of teacher experience was not uniquely predictive • Percentage of classes taught by ESEA high quality teachers was not uniquely predictive • Percentage of teachers with master’s degrees significant at p< .10 • Need more years of data and more in-depth study RESULTS OBJECTIVES • IMPLICATIONS • Relationship between teacher characteristics and higher education attainment may not be linear • Teachers may impact learning outcomes, which then impacts higher education attainment • States and districts need to determine whether or not master’s degrees are associated with teaching practices that encourage higher education attainment, considering incentives tied to acquisition of master’s degree • Further study may help identify teacher characteristics that are associated with higher education attainment, which can inform teacher hiring and distribution • METHODS • Data from the Education Research and Data Center (ERDC) on Washington students • Independent variable: rates of Washington students enrolling in higher education institutions (2009) • Data from the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) on Washington teacher characteristics • Dependent variables: average years of teacher experience, percentage of teachers with at least a Master’s degree, and percentage of classes taught by a teacher designated as an ESEA high quality teacher • Multiple regression analysis (Tabachnick & Fidell, 2007) conducted in SPSS 19 • REFERENCES • Choi, D. S. (2010). The impact of competing definitions of quality on the geographical distribution of teachers. Educational Policy, 24(2), 359-397. • Clotfelter, C.T., Ladd, H.F., & Vigdor, J.L. (2007). Teacher credentials and student achievement: Longitudinal analysis with student fixed effects. Economics of Education Review, 26, 673-682. • Darling-Hammond, L. (2010). The flat world and education: How America’s commitment to equity will determine our future. New York: Teachers College Press. • Lumina Foundation for Education. (2009). A stronger nation through higher education. Accessed November 5, 2012 from http://www.luminafoundation.org/states_landing/a_stronger_nation_through_education/. • Oakes, J., Mendoza, J., & Silver, D. (2004). California opportunity indicators: Informing and monitoring California’s progress toward equitable college access. Accessed November 5, 2012 from: http://ucaccord.gseis.ucla.edu/publications. • Tabachnick, B.G. & Fidell, L.S. (2007). Using multivariate statistics, 5th edition. Boston: Pearson Education. Tiffany Katanyoutanant: tkatan@uw.edu Yuan-Ling Liaw: linda08@uw.edu