The Methodological Issues of Variance in Teacher Behavior and Student Achievement: The Relationship of Variance to School and Teacher Effectiveness.

Abstract

Three different issues were involved in this study. Issue I examined the means and variances of teacher behavior for teachers in effective school versus teachers in ineffective schools. Five teachers were evaluated from grade three and grade five of five effective and six ineffective schools (25 teachers from effective schools and 30 teachers from ineffective schools). Observations of seven dimensions of teaching behavior were conducted. In every case, the group means of teacher behavior were higher for the teachers in the effective school category. An examination of the coefficients of variation indicated that the dispersion of scores for the teachers in effective schools was less than for teachers in ineffective schools. Qualitative interviews with both teachers and principals were conducted to find possible explanations for the differences found in the means and coefficients of variation of teacher behavior. Results indicated that effective schools had better teacher socialization processes, stronger principals, more strictly enforced schoolwide discipline policies, and more thoughtful and thorough means of teacher selection/dismissal. Issues II and III dealt with the equity concern in education. Issue II was concerned with the means and variances of achievement for different socioeconomic (SES) levels of students who were taught by effective, typical, and ineffective teachers (60 teachers, 20 in each group). Issue III examined the means and variances of student achievement for students in effective, typical, and ineffective schools (162 elementary schools, 54 schools in each effectiveness category). The differences in the results of the group means for Issue II compared to Issue III show that the differential effectiveness of the teacher and the school have similar influences on student achievement. There is slightly more differentiation in school effectiveness categories than in teacher effectiveness categories. When examining variance, the teacher and the school yielded opposite results. For Issue II, the smallest variance was found in the effective teacher group. For Issue III, the effective school group had the largest variance. Effective teachers appear to be realizing the goal of equity, whereas effective schools appear to be widening the dispersion of scores.