Carnegie Grant to Aid Study of Louisiana Universities that Prepare Most Effective New Teachers

Innovative research in Louisiana has shown that some teacher preparation programs in the state produce brand new teachers whose students perform as well as students taught by more experienced teachers. Now, a new $800,000 grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York will help university researchers in Louisiana discover the reasons behind this surprising phenomenon. Assistant Professor Sarah Raines, a new faculty member in the Department of Educational Theory, Policy, and Practice, will lead the LSU research team in this initiative.

“Most people in our state are not aware that Louisiana is leading the nation in developing a state model that examines the effectiveness of university teacher preparation programs based upon gains in achievement of children taught by new teachers,” said Louisiana Commissioner of Higher Education Joseph Savoie. “We believe this new research will have a significant impact on the development of effective new teachers in our state and across the nation.”

“Carnegie Corporation’s grant will allow the state to fully develop a valid and reliable value-added assessment model utilizing student achievement data from all 68 school districts in Louisiana to assign teacher preparation effectiveness values to each of the state’s 20 public and private universities,” said Daniel Fallon, Carnegie Corporation of New York’s Program Director, Higher Education.

George Noell, a researcher in the Department of Psychology at Louisiana State University has been working with the Board of Regents and the Louisiana Department of Education during the last four years to create a Value-Added Teacher Preparation Assessment Model intended to assign values to undergraduate and alternate certification programs within universities that prepare new teachers.

“There are only a few major research studies examining the use of value-added assessments to assess the utility of teacher preparation programs, and none of them is part of a coordinated effort between K-12 and higher education to improve student outcomes the way our effort in Louisiana is,” Noell said.

“We are proud that the Department of Education has a comprehensive data system to conduct research of this type,” said Paul Pastorek, Louisiana State Superintendent of Education. “This is a good example of how PK-12 education and higher education have joined efforts and are sharing data for the purpose of creating more effective new teachers.”

The $800,000 in funding from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, along with a $1 million match from the Board of Regents, over the next two years will allow Noell, his research team, and the Department of Education to fully develop the quantitative components of the model. In addition, it will enable all 20 universities in the state to identify a researcher from their institutions to work on a state qualitative research team to conduct research to determine why some teacher preparation programs are producing new teachers who immediately demonstrate effectiveness in improving the achievement of grades 4-9 students when they start teaching.

“Dr. Noell’s pilot studies are showing us that we have universities that are producing effective new teachers within some programs and less effective new teachers in other programs at the same university,” said Jeanne Burns, Associate Commissioner for Teacher Education Initiatives, Board of Regents, Governor’s Office, and College of Education alumna. “What we do not know is why? The new grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Board of Regents will help us to identify our most effective programs and help us better understand why they are effective. It is our goal to provide effective teacher preparation programs within all universities in our state.”

Carnegie Corporation, based in New York City, was created by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to promote “the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding.” For over 95 years the Corporation has carried out Carnegie’s vision of philanthropy by building on his two major concerns: international peace and advancing education and knowledge. Innovative research in Louisiana has shown that some teacher preparation programs in the state produce brand new teachers whose students perform as well as students taught by more experienced teachers. Now, a new $800,000 grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York will help university researchers in Louisiana discover the reasons behind this surprising phenomenon. Assistant Professor Sarah Raines, a new faculty member in the Department of Educational Theory, Policy, and Practice, will lead the LSU research team in this initiative.
“Most people in our state are not aware that Louisiana is leading the nation in developing a state model that examines the effectiveness of university teacher preparation programs based upon gains in achievement of children taught by new teachers,” said Louisiana Commissioner of Higher Education Joseph Savoie. “We believe this new research will have a significant impact on the development of effective new teachers in our state and across the nation.”