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Last week, my students and I were discussing professional development and teacher leadership in my Pre-Teaching Secondary English class.  I know.  Sounds exciting, right?

Seriously, we had a great discussion that began with a study conducted by Helen Ladd almost a decade ago now which looked at teacher quality and effectiveness.  (For the record, these two factors were measured by peer and direktur review, not by student performance).  The study concluded that teachers are least effective during the first four years of their careers but that, for those who remain beyond the four year mark, teachers attain a level of competence around year five that they sustain for a fifteen year period.

There are several interesting things to observe about this study.  One is that the four year mark is consistent with research on performance mastery.  You’ve probably all heard about the studies that show that 10,000 hours are necessary to master a skill.  At forty hours a week (and most teachers put in more), after four years you’d have a bit over 8,000 hours of practice.  Factor in one to three years of some form of student teaching preceding this (depending on your program) and you see that most teachers attain that 10,000 hour mark some time during that fourth year.  This study might also help explain or at least contextualize the fact that large numbers of teachers leave the profession in the first five years but this rate flattens out after that.  Those who stay are the ones who have figured it out.

Some of the corporate reformers out there—Michelle Rhee is a notable one—have deliberately misrepresented this study to suggest that teachers attain minimum competence in year five and then stagnate for the next decade and a half, which is clearly not the conclusion drawn by Ladd.

Additional studies cited in Dana Goldsein’s new book The Teacher Wars also demonstrate that only about 2% to 3% of teachers who have attained tenure are measured as ineffective.  This does not mean everyone’s a rock star; it just means that the vast majority of those who make it to tenure demonstrate at least basic competence.

Nonetheless, one compelling question raised by Ladd's study regards what happens after year twenty.  For one thing, significant numbers of teachers leave the classroom after that point.  They don’t necessarily leave teaching, but they may enter administration or guidance or higher ed, or they may take on a new role, such as literacy coach or reading consultant, something that grows naturally out of a sixth year degree or second masters.

For those who remain in the classroom beyond year twenty, however, this study revealed a significant divergence in the quality of their instruction.  Some excel while some struggle.  It’s not entirely clear why this is.  It may be that the mass exodus of teachers from the classroom may expose existing disparities among otherwise competent teachers and also exaggerate the degree of difference.  It may be that the profession passes some by, as in the realm of digital literacies.  It may be that some teachers simply burn out.  Regardless of these factors, the researchers concluded that the major difference between the quality of effective and ineffective teachers beyond year twenty was the teachers’ participation in quality professional development.

Personally, I can’t emphasize enough the importance of ongoing quality professional development.  In the last few weeks, Amy Nocton, Danielle Pierrati, and Colette Bennet presented their summer institute research at conferences in both Connecticut and Florence, Italy.  Kim Kraner has been taking a grad class in creative writing.  Earlier this week, Liza Escott, Kim Shaker, and Elizabeth Simison led workshops for their colleagues at the UConn Early College Experience English conference.  And I participated in roundtable discussions here in Maryland at the NCTE Annual Convention with Elizabeth Simison and Amanda Lister. 

And part of the focus of my lesson for the pre-service teachers is that it’s not going to work to reach year twenty and then get involved in some quality PD.  One must develop habits of mind and practice as a new teacher, even as a pre-service teacher, that are maintained throughout your career.  In the case of the women I mention above, Amy, Liza and Colette are all around or beyond that twenty year mark while the others are still on the short side of that line, but they all have clearly integrated these habits into their professional lives and identities, and the research suggests this will be to their great benefit long-term.

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