Research that moved minds: Top Teacher Quality Bulletin articles of 2024

The end of the year offers an opportunity to reflect on what we learned and what sparked interest in the education community. In that spirit, NCTQ devotes the December edition of our Teacher Quality Bulletin newsletter to looking at the opinions and research we shared this year and spotlighting the pieces that most interested our readers.

Most-read editorial of 2024
By many measures, 2024 has been the year of reading, as many states that adopted reading policies over the last few years are putting those policies into action. While the laws typically represent big improvements over past policy, it is no small task to ensure they are carried out to improve teaching practices in every elementary classroom and teacher prep program in a state. In May, NCTQ’s Dr. Heather Peske and Michael Sheehy explored how states are tracking the implementation of new reading policies, sharing examples of seven actions state leaders are taking to verify that these new bills are “more than words.”

Five most-read research blogs of 2024
The idea that we are slowly but surely making forward progress may feel too idealistic, but new research on generational differences in teacher quality should give us reason to be optimistic. The blog post OK, Boomer: Why younger generations may be more effective teachers shares a study that found that younger generations of teachers are more effective at raising their students’ math scores than their elders. These younger generations are also better at teaching both Black and white students—largely because younger white teachers are becoming much more effective than white teachers used to be at teaching their Black students. In reading, teachers were similarly effective, regardless of their generation.

Taking another approach to educational equity, Arkansas passed a law to restructure teacher salaries, including setting a statewide minimum salary of $50,000. In Transforming education: The LEARNS Act’s impact on teacher salaries in Arkansas, we share early research on how this act is panning out. The big takeaway is that while teachers’ salaries are more equal across the state, large urban districts still offer much higher pay for experienced teachers. Researchers continue to track what this policy means for teacher recruitment and retention.

Teacher retention remains a high priority for school leaders, but retaining other staff is also essential to keep a school functioning smoothly. In Who’s walking out the door? How does turnover vary among teachers, paraprofessionals, administrators, and staff?, we look at recent research that finds teachers are actually less likely to leave the classroom than paraprofessionals and other school staff. Given the positive effect that non-teaching staff has on students, the research points to both the need to retain these staff members and to build data systems that let states know when high turnover is becoming a problem.

As part of the emphasis on reading—and increasingly math—states and districts are adopting high-quality instructional materials. Unfortunately, these policies run into a proverbial brick wall when teachers think the materials are too tough for their students. A survey found that three in ten teachers think this is the case. The post, In the eye of the beholder: What happens when teachers think the curriculum is too tough for students?, shares RAND survey data as well as a few actionable nuggets. The best way to counteract teachers’ perceptions and help them implement the curricula instead of turning to Teachers Pay Teachers (or its equivalent) seems to be to maintain the same curricula over time and provide professional learning opportunities focused on the high-quality instructional materials.

Reading continues to capture the attention of our readers in The bigger picture: Why we need better reading instruction across all grades. Another RAND survey reveals that even secondary teachers frequently devote time to foundational literacy activities, which is not surprising given NAEP data that a third of eighth-grade students are “below basic” in reading. The study suggests a few takeaways. First, secondary teachers were more likely to teach foundational skills in states that enacted reading legislation, perhaps indicating that they were more aware of the need to employ these foundational skills (though the study cannot make any causal claims). Second, it suggests that teacher prep programs need to at least introduce secondary teachers to how to identify and address students’ literacy gaps.

We wish all of you a happy end to 2024 and look forward to welcoming the new year with hope—and with lots more analysis of education research and policy trends. We hope that this newsletter continues to assist you in the hard but essential work of building systems that give every student a high-quality education led by effective teachers.