Sec. 2. Findings and purposes
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Congress finds the following: Teacher quality is the single most important in-school factor influencing student learning and achievement. A 2003 study by Richard Ingersoll found that new teachers, not just those in hard-to-staff schools, face such challenging working conditions that nearly one-half leave the profession within their first 5 years, one-third leave within their first 3 years, and 14 percent leave by the end of their first year. A report by the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future estimated that the nationwide cost of replacing public school teachers who have dropped out of the profession is $7,300,000,000 annually.
A randomized controlled trial of comprehensive teacher induction, sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences found that beginning teachers who received 2 years of induction support produced greater student learning gains as a result, the equivalent of a student moving from the 50th to 58th percentile in mathematics achievement and from the 50th to 54th percentile in reading achievement. Research by Thomas Smith, Richard Ingersoll, Michael Strong, Anthony Villar, and Jonah Rockoff has shown that comprehensive mentoring and induction reduces teacher attrition by as much as one-half and strengthens new teacher effectiveness.
A recent School Redesign Network at Stanford University and National Staff Development Council report by Linda Darling-Hammond, Ruth Chung Wei, Alethea Andree, Nikole Richardson, and Stelios Orphanos found that— a set of programs that offered substantial contact hours of professional development (ranging from 30 to 100 hours in total) spread over 6 to 12 months showed a positive and significant effect on student achievement gains; and intensive professional development, especially when it includes applications of knowledge to teachers’ planning and instruction, has a greater chance of influencing teacher practices, and in turn, leading to gains in student learning, and such intensive professional development has shown a positive and significant effect on student achievement gains, in some cases by approximately 21 percentile points.
Teachers can acquire and use new knowledge and skills in their instruction when provided with adequate opportunities to learn, according to Student Achievement Through Staff Development published by ASCD, which found that more than 90 percent of participants attained skill proficiency if it includes theory presentation, demonstration, practice, and peer coaching. Recent reports from the Center for American Progress, Education Sector, Hope Street Group, and the New Teacher Project have collectively demonstrated the significant flaws in current teacher evaluation and implementation, and the necessity for redesigning these systems and linking such evaluation to individualized feedback and substantive targeted support in order to ensure effective teaching.
Research by Kenneth Leithwood, Karen Seashore Louis, Stephen Anderson, and Kyla Wahlstrom found that— leadership is second only to classroom instruction among school-related factors that influence student outcomes; and direct and indirect leadership effects account for about one-quarter of total school effects on student learning. Research by Charles Clotfelter, Helen Ladd, Kenneth Leithwood, Anthony Milanowski, and the New Teacher Center has shown that the quality of working conditions, particularly supportive school leadership, impacts student academic achievement and teacher recruitment, retention, and effectiveness.
Since 1965, more than 60 education and library studies have produced clear evidence that school libraries staffed by qualified librarians have a positive impact on student academic achievement, with a recent analysis of reading scores from 2004–2009 showing that fewer librarians translated to lower performance, or a slower rise in scores, on standardized tests. The purposes of this Act are to build capacity for developing effective teachers and principals in our Nation’s schools through— the redesign of teacher and principal evaluation and assessment systems; comprehensive, high-quality, rigorous, multi-year induction and mentoring programs for beginning teachers, principals, and other school leaders; systematic, sustained, and coherent professional development for all teachers that is team-based and job-embedded; systematic, sustained, and coherent professional development for school principals, other school leaders, school librarians, paraprofessionals, and other staff; and increased teacher leadership opportunities, including compensation for teacher leaders who take on new roles in providing school-based professional development, mentoring, rigorous evaluation, and instructional coaching.