Teacher Leadership and Student Achievement
Authors Calderone and Green (2016) conducted a study on the effects that
teacher leaders have on student achievement. The participants in the study included eight
math & science teachers, 4 of those considered teacher leaders, and 173 eighth grade
students. The findings were that in advanced math and science classes, there was a
correlation. However, in normal math and science classes, there was no clear increase in
student achievement in classes taught by teacher leaders. The article mentions that
although teachers may be considered “teacher leaders,” they still individually have varying
teaching philosophies, instructional strategies, etc. Teacher leaders are described as those
who inspire their colleagues and help other teachers to improve in their practice. The
authors explain that teacher leaders are strong in their content knowledge and their
ability to teach that content. The authors suggest that students in advanced math and
science courses may have performed to a higher standard simply due to their intrinsic
motivation, rather than the fact that they were taught by teacher leaders. At the end of
the study, results were conclusive that there was no direct correlation between teacher
leaders and student achievement, however because the study was a small sample size,
further research should be done to determine if the results of this study are accurate.
Will (2017) describes a study conducted by Ingersoll from 2011 to 2015, in which
he reviewed surveys regarding teaching, learning, and working conditions in schools. The
participants of the survey were nearly 1 million teachers from thousands of schools across
the country. The findings were that schools with teacher leaders had higher ELA and math
achievement. This article describes teacher leaders as those who have a voice in
instructional and behavioral decisions, as well as overall school improvement planning.
The author suggests that when teachers have more authority in school planning, they have
an increased sense of ownership on what happens within their own classroom.
Additionally, teachers in this survey shared that they felt teachers were held to high
standards. The author suggests that when teachers are held to high standards, they may
also hold students to high standards, which can increase student achievement.
These two articles explain the possible effects that teacher leadership have on
student achievement. However, where Calderone and Green (2016) see no correlation of
teacher leadership on student achievement, Author Will (2017) from EdWeek.org
suggests that Ingersoll’s study (2011-2015) shows teacher leadership having a direct
impact on student math and ELA scores.
Overall, these two studies show that teacher leadership provides teachers with
increased confidence and ownership within their own classroom. I believe having
confidence in your ability to teach content and manage a classroom is important to
student achievement. Having a voice in the way behaviors and academics are handled can
increase student achievement because teachers know their students better than anyone
else and can therefore adapt their practices to meet the needs of their students.
Calderone,S, Kent, A, and Green, A. (2016). Teacher Leaders and Student Achievement:
can the dots be connected? Revista Eletrônica de Educação, 12.
Will, M. (2017). Teacher Leadership is Linked to Higher Student Test Scores in New Study.
Education Week Teacher.
