Teacher Quality

There is a general consensus that teacher quality is among the most important factors shaping student learning and growth.  There is also general agreement that the current quality of teachers and teaching in the United States is a serious problem.  However, there is little agreement about what the source of this problem might be: some argue teacher shortages are to blame, others say the teachers in classrooms are simply under-qualified and under-prepared.  The question of teacher quality carries the additional concern of social and economic equity; poor and minority students are especially dependent on the quality of their teacher, but high-poverty, high-minority classrooms are the often most difficult to staff with a well-qualified teacher.  Research on teacher quality explores the complex social and economic aspects of this issue, including teacher compensation and merit-based pay, teacher recruitment and retention, quality of teacher education, and barriers to entry in the occupation.  Below is a listing of CPRE research that examines the many facets of evaluating and improving teacher quality.