PISA 2009 and IDB

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miércoles 8 de diciembre de 2010

Teacher Quality in PISA 2009

The following highlights the main PISA 2009 results for Teacher Quality, and their link to IDB research work in this area.

The best teachers with the most vulnerable students

A good teacher can help close the achievement gap resulting from other determinants such as socioeconomic status, it is therefore critical that the most vulnerable students have access to the best teachers. Unfortunately the results from PISA 2009 show that there is still ample space for improvement in this area, as schools with lower socio-economic status students tend to have less full-time teachers with university degrees. Peru and Trinidad & Tobago rank highest, among LAC countries and across the 65 countries included, in disparities of full-time university-graduate teachers between advantage and disadvantaged schools.

Supporting the region in facing this challenge, EDU’s 2007-2010 research has provided evidence on the positive impact of placing effective teachers with vulnerable students in Spanish and Mathematics scores, as well as in skills demanded by the labor markets such as non-cognitive skills and motivation (TFA in LAC) (Pilot and Evaluation Description). IDB is conducting research on innovative ways to provide further support to countries facing the challenge to provide vulnerable students with the best possible teachers , one such example s the Math Tutoring program in Brazil (Tutoring Pilot link).

Relationship between teachers’ salaries and performance

The PISA 2009 results indicate that students perform better in countries that pay teachers more relative to national income, while class size does not necessarily appear to be related to good outcomes. Some countries maintain high salaries by having large class sizes. This group includes some good performers such as Japan and Korea, as well as some Latin American Countries like Chile and México.

EDU’s research agenda aims at providing evidence on human resources policies supporting the countries in the long-term endeavor and careful consideration of the teaching profession. Information on the most effective way of providing incentives within a school, where the highest impacts come from giving incentives for teachers, students and other school actors comes from the ongoing pilot Aligning Learning Incentives (ALI Preliminary Results) (ALI Description).


Class management and teachers’ positive expectations of students and effective learning strategies

The link between high education outcomes and good class environment, and teacher-related factors that affect school climate, such as positive student-teacher relations, positive teacher attitudes and expectations towards their students, is evident in the PISA 2009 results regardless of schools’ socioeconomic background.

In 20 out of 38 countries, the percentage of students that reported good relation with their teachers increased from PISA 2000. This was the case for most of the countries in Latin America that participate, notably the case of Chile, Argentina, Mexico, and Peru. In Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Panama, Uruguay and Trinidad & Tobago, schools with better disciplinary climates produced better student performance in reading. In Chile, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil and Trinidad & Tobago, teachers’ attitudes and behaviors positively affected student learning.
The results support previous research pointing to the use of effective learning strategies to boost effective student learning. The PISA 2009 highlights the importance for parents, teachers and schools to provide students with the tools to become effective learners.

Ongoing IDB research aims at further supporting the countries in LAC with teacher training for effective leaning techniques with evidence from the impact of effective classroom techniques on student learning and motivation. (link).