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Abstract:
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In 1996, the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future proposed the creation of stable, high-quality sources of professional development (NCTAF, 1996). Schools and districts encourage teachers to engage in professional development in order to improve teacher effectiveness. However, the empirical evidence is mixed regarding the effectiveness of professional development as a tool for improving student outcomes. Using fifth-grade data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort, this paper explores the relationships among teacher characteristics, professional development, and student achievement. In a probit model predicting professional development participation, higher educational levels significantly decrease the probability of taking math professional development, while taking additional courses in math methods increases that probability. With a two-stage least-squares approach, additional hours of math professional development have no bearing on a student's math test scores. |