Is There a Relationship Between No Child Left Behind Indicators of Teacher Quality and The Cognitive and Social Development of Early Elementary Students?

Research has shown that teachers are one of the most important contributors to student learning in school, beyond what students learn at home (see Ferguson, 1998; Darling-Hammond, 2000; Goldhaber 2002; Hanushek, Kain & Rivkin, 1999; Wright, Horn, & Sanders, 1997). For historically disadvantaged students whose home environments provide them with little social capital, the contribution of teachers to learning in school is even more influential. Yet high poverty, high minority and urban schools are more likely to be staffed by unqualified teachers (Ingersoll, 2002). The improvement of teacher quality and student achievement of disadvantaged students is one objective of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. In specifying the definition of a highly qualified teacher, No Child Left Behind (NCLB) requires that teachers must hold full state certification, hold at least a bachelor’s degree from a four-year institution, and demonstrate competence in their subject area. Under this legislation, states are required to place a “highly qualified” teacher in every classroom by the end of this 2005-06 school year. The extent to which this major piece of educational legislation will accomplish its intended goals will not be known for some time. However, it is evident that its impact on schools, teachers and students will be substantial.

In this paper, I present findings from an analysis that examines the relationship of the NCLB-mandated teacher quality characteristics to the cognitive achievement and socio-emotional development among early elementary students.

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