Journal for Effective Schools
Volume 11, Number 1
and measurement error limit findings to comparisons of teachers within a school – and not generalizable beyond (Rothstein & Mathis, 2013). Research on teaching behaviors and school environment. The instructional environment in which teachers work also influences their effectiveness in increasing student achievement. One large-scale study in elementary schools using a multilevel constellation of teacher-related effects (e.g. classroom effectiveness, collective teaching quality, school academic organization) that could be changed to increase educational efficacy found that teachers’ effectiveness was a stable and continuing part of the school organization, and teaching processes were positively associated with achievement levels (Heck, 2009). As others have, the investigator observed that within schools, some students were assigned to more effective teachers than others; and over time, these assignment decisions resulted in differential achievement outcomes – to students’ academic advantage or disadvantage (Heck, 2009). Likewise, a different study surveyed a major national group of preK- 12 teachers and found that school working conditions – in this case, the culture that supports teacher collaboration – appears to be an important factor in teacher effectiveness and improved student outcomes (Berry, Daughtry, & Weiner, 2009). Another school environment study determined that teachers who switch schools are more effective after a move than before. This North Carolina study, grades three through five (1995 – 2006), examined the extent to which teacher effectiveness, as measured by ability to improve student test scores, changed depending on the schooling environment and quantified the importance of the match between a teacher and a school in determining student achievement (Jackson, 2010). A match effect is anything that makes a teacher more or less productive at one school as compared to another (that is not due to a school characteristic that affects all teachers equally). Using a longitudinal dataset, the investigator found that teachers who switch schools are more effective after a move than before ─ suggesting match effects. In contrast, teachers are less likely to leave their current school when match quality is high. The researcher’s conclusion: a sizeable part of teacher effectiveness may be a function of the teacher-school environment match and not portable across schools (Jackson, 2010). Despite their usefulness when well designed and conducted, classroom observations have their limitations. If this is the only data that school districts use to evaluate teachers, they may discourage innovation and pressure teachers to adopt a certain model of effective practice (Kane, 2012). Even when using standards-based rubrics to identify specific behaviors, observers must be trained to interpret behavior the same way in order to keep inter-rater reliability high and reduce subjective judgments. Also, teachers’ performance may change, depending on the content taught and the student audience. Accordingly, multiple trained raters must be 20