How Changes in Entry Requirements Alter the Teacher Workforce and Affect Student Achievement

Weareinthemidstofwhatamountstoanationalexperi- mentinhowbest toattract,prepare,andretain teachers, particularly for high-poverty urban schools. Using data on students and teachers in grades 3-8, this study as- sesses the effects of pathways into teaching in New York City on the teacher workforce and on student achieve- ment. We ask whether teachers who enter through new routes, with reduced coursework prior to teaching, are moreorlesseffectiveatimprovingstudentachievement. Whencomparedtoteacherswhocompletedauniversity- basedteachereducationprogram,teacherswithreduced coursework prior to entry often provide smaller initial gains in both mathematics and English language arts. Most differences disappear as the cohort matures, and many of the differences are not large in magnitude, typi- cally 2 to 5 percent of a standard deviation. The variation in effectiveness within pathways is far greater than the average differences between pathways.