Supporting New Teachers: Evaluating Teacher Induction Models

Educating each generation of children is one of our nation’s most important obligations, and doing so hinges on the availability of qualified and effective teachers. The availability of these teachers is at risk, especially in schools serving children with the greatest educational needs.

School-based induction programs are a promising approach to address issues of teacher quality and retention. These programs are designed to improve retention and support the professional development of new teachers. Through various efforts, including mentoring, professional development workshops, and formative assessment, the programs aim to help novice teachers in their difficult early years, increase their pedagogical knowledge and classroom management skills, and integrate them more effectively into the school community.

Induction programs, which can range from informal efforts to more intensive programs, are being implemented with tremendous variability in schools across the country at a rapid rate. Evidence of their effectiveness is limited, however. Mathematica and its subcontractors, WestEd and the Center for Education Leadership at the University of Pennsylvania, have been awarded a five-year, $10.3 million contract from the U.S. Department of Education to carry out a rigorous evaluation of the impact of teacher induction programs.

In this study, which focuses on induction in elementary schools, Mathematica is examining two high-intensity teacher induction models, one developed by Educational Testing Service and one by the New Teacher Center at the University of California, Santa Cruz. During the 2005-2006 school year, districts participating in the study will implement one of these programs. In each participating district, approximately 20 elementary schools will be randomly assigned to either implement one of the intensive induction models or continue providing whatever form of teacher induction they normally provide. Researchers will examine whether receipt of a high-intensity induction model results in significantly higher rates of teacher retention, improvements in teachers' instructional practice, and greater student achievement. Following their initial year of teaching and participation in an induction program, teachers will be tracked for three additional years.

Back to Top