The reason for probationary licensure should be to determine teacher effectiveness. Most states grant new teachers a probationary license that must later be converted to an advanced or professional license. A probationary period is sound policy as it provides an opportunity to determine whether individuals merit professional licensure. However, very few states require any determination of teacher performance or effectiveness in deciding whether a teacher will advance from the probationary license. Instead, states generally require probationary teachers to fulfill a set of requirements to receive advanced certification. Therefore, ending the probationary period is based on whether a checklist has been completed rather than on teacher performance and effectiveness.
Most state requirements for achieving professional certification have not been shown to affect teacher effectiveness.[1] Unfortunately, not only do most states fail to connect advanced certification to actual evidence of teacher effectiveness, but also the requirements teachers must most often meet are not even related to teacher effectiveness. The most common requirement for professional licensure is completion of additional coursework, often resulting in a master's degree. Requiring teachers to obtain additional training in their teaching area would be meaningful; however, the requirements are usually vague, allowing the teacher to fulfill coursework requirements from long menus that include areas having no connection or use to the teacher in the classroom.[2] The research evidence on requiring a master's degree is quite conclusive: with rare exceptions, these degrees have not been shown to make teachers more effective.[3] This is likely due in no small part to the fact that teachers may not attain master's degrees in their subject areas.
In addition to their dubious value, these requirements may also serve as a disincentive to teacher retention. Talented probationary teachers may be unwilling to invest time and resources in more education coursework. Further, they may well pursue advanced degrees that facilitate leaving teaching.
[1] For studies observing various trends in student achievement and licensure requirements, see: Clotfelter, C. T., Ladd, H. F., & Vigdor, J. L. (2004). Teacher sorting, teacher shopping, and the assessment of teacher effectiveness. Duke University manuscript., which is the previous draft of the current paper entitled: Clotfelter, C. T., Ladd, H. F., & Vigdor, J. L. (2006). Teacher-student matching and the assessment of teacher effectiveness.
Journal of human Resources, 41(4), 778-820
. Retrieved from
http://www.nber.org/papers/w11936; Ladd, H. F., Clotfelter, C. T., & Vigdor, J. L. (2007).
How and why do teacher credentials matter for student achievement? (NBER Working Paper 142786). Retrieved from
http://www.nber.org/papers/w12828; Ehrenberg, R. G., & Brewer, D. J. (1994). Do school and teacher characteristics matter? Evidence from high school and beyond.
Economics of Education Review,
13(1), 1-17.; Goldhaber, D., & Anthony, E. (2007). Can teacher quality be effectively assessed? National Board Certification as a signal of effective teaching.
The Review of Economics and Statistics,
89(1), 134-150.; Goldhaber, D. D., & Brewer, D. J. (1997). Why don't schools and teachers seem to matter? Assessing the impact of unobservables on educational productivity.
Journal of Human Resources, 505-523. Retrieved from
http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED400237.pdf; Goldhaber, D. D., & Brewer, D. J. (2000). Does teacher certification matter? High school teacher certification status and student achievement.
Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis,
22(2), 129-145.; Hanushek, E. A., & Rivkin, S. G. (2006). Teacher quality.
Handbook of the Economics of Education,
2, 1051-1078. Retrieved from
http://www.nber.org/papers/w11154.pdf; Rivkin, S. G., Hanushek, E. A., & Kain, J. F. (2005). Teachers, schools, and academic achievement.
Econometrica,
73(2), 417-458. Retrieved from
http://www.nber.org/papers/w6691.pdf; Harris, D., & Sass, T. R. (2006).
Value-added models and the measurement of teacher quality (Unpublished manuscript). Retrieved from
http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/1001431-what-makes-for-a-good-teacher.pdf; Harris, D. N., & Sass, T. R. (2011). Teacher training, teacher quality and student achievement.
Journal of Public Economics,
95(7), 798-812. Retrieved from
http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED509656.pdf; Harris, D. N., & Sass, T. R. (2009). The effects of NBPTS‐certified teachers on student achievement.
Journal of Policy Analysis and Management,
28(1), 55-80. Retrieved from
http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED509659.pdf; Jepsen, C. (2005). Teacher characteristics and student achievement: Evidence from teacher surveys.
Journal of Urban Economics,
57(2), 302-319.; Monk, D. H. (1994). Subject area preparation of secondary mathematics and science teachers and student achievement.
Economics of Education Review,
13(2), 125-145.; Riordan, J. (2006, April). Is there a relationship between No Child Left Behind indicators of teacher quality and the cognitive and social development of early elementary students? In
annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, CA. Retrieved from
http://www.cpre.org/sites/default/files/meetingpaper/1001_aera2006nclbandstudentsdevelopment.pdf; Schneider,B. (1985). Further evidence of school effects.
Journal of Educational Research, 78(6), p. 351-356.
[2] For evidence on the lack of correlation between education coursework and teacher effectiveness, see: Allen, M. B. (2003).
Eight questions on teacher preparation: What does the research say? Education Commission of the States. Retrieved from
http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED479051 [3] For a meta-analysis of the research on the relationship between advanced degrees and teacher effectiveness, see: Doherty, K., Walsh, K., Jacobs, S., & Neuman-Sheldon, B. (2010).
Arizona's race to the top: What will it take to compete? Washington, DC: National Council on Teacher Quality. Retrieved from
http://www.nctq.org/dmsView/Arizona_Race_to_the_Top_NCTQ_Report; For secondary math teachers however, a relevant master's degree is associated with greater teacher effectiveness, see: Walsh, K., Lubell, S., & Ross, E. (2017, August).
Backing the wrong horse: The story of one state's ambitious but disheartening foray into performance pay. Washington, DC: National Council on Teacher Quality. Retrieved from
https://www.nctq.org/dmsView/NCTQ_Backing_the_Wrong_Horse_2017