Teacher and School Characteristics: Predictors of Student Achievement in Georgia Public Schools

• Main Authors: Alisande Mayer, Ellen Wiley, Larry Wiley, Dianne Dees, Simmie Raiford
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Georgia Southern University 2016-07-01
• Series: Georgia Educational Researcher
• Subjects: Student Achievement; Teacher Experience; Teacher Education; Class Size; Title I; NCLB
• Online Access: https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gerjournal/vol13/iss1/3

Student achievement of fifth-grade students in 106 Georgia public schools in CRCT reading and mathematics was examined as a function of five characteristics of teachers and schools. The five independent variables used as predictors of CRCT scores were Title I status, teachers’ education level, teachers’ average years of experience, class size, and computer to student ratio. Designation as a Title I school was the strongest predictor of student achievement. When compared to non-Title I schools, Title I school status resulted in a higher percentage of students meeting CRCT standards in both reading and math and a lower percentage of students exceeding standards in both reading and mathematics. However, Title I school status also resulted in a higher percentage of students meeting standards on both the CRCT reading and mathematics. Class size seemed to have very little relationship to the overall achievement of fifth-grade students. Teacher quality revealed mixed, though generally positive results when correlated with student achievement. Even though Title I designation is indicative of positive outcomes for CRCT scores, these positive outcomes do not hold for every predictor.