Teach First teachers in the UK

A friend sent me a link to this report about the positive impact of Teach First teachers in the UK (Teach First is the overseas arm of Teach for America): www.teachfirst.org.uk/TFNews/TFPressRelease/CorpPressRelease_15956.aspx.  The main findings of the research included:

 

•                     A significant correlation between participation in Teach First and improved pupil achievement, which appears one to two years following the first year of partnership with the school

•                     A positive relationship between the number of Teach First teachers in a school and pupil achievement at Key Stage 4, with schools with more Teach First teachers performing better than those with fewer Teach First teachers

•                     Observations that the teaching practices of Teach First teachers in their first year are good to excellent – in international comparisons they were generally on a par with or ahead of more experienced teachers

•                     Other teaching staff describe Teach First teachers as creative, enthusiastic and prepared to listen and learn from others

•                     Where significant, partnering with Teach First explains between 20% and 40% of the between-school variance in pupil performance at GCSE. This difference – the researchers estimate – equates to approximately a third of a GCSE per pupil per subject

•                     Compelling evidence from a range of evaluation routes that, when combined, show that Teach First teachers have a positive impact in schools

•                     Evidence that the positive effect Teach First is having on achievement has strengthened over time suggesting that the Leadership Development Programme is becoming more effective