Teacher expectations and student achievement

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Authors
Copper, Michael C.
Advisor
Wagner, Ivan D.
Issue Date
1989
Keyword
Degree
Thesis (D. Ed.)
Department
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Abstract

The 1989 Teacher Expectations and Student Achievement (TESA) study analyzed whether students perceived as low achievers, having been taught by TESA-trained instructors in the Metropolitan School District (MSD) of Warren Township over a three-year period, achieved significantly (p < .05) higher academic gain than a similar control group of students not taught by TESA-trained instructors as measured by the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (CTBS).Federal Judge S. Hugh Dillin, in 1971, found the Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) system to be racially segregated in violation of the Constitution. The ruling indicated that the school system was denying equal opportunity to black children because of race. Following ten years of review and appeals to higher courts, one-way busing of black students from IPS to six suburban school districts began in the fall of 1981 in Marion County, including the MSD of Warren Township. Some of the greatest concerns for one-way busing included the steps being taken to ensure fair treatment and full academic opportunity for all children involved in desegregation.As a result of the desegregation order, the MSD of Warren Township and several other Indianapolis suburban school systems adopted the TESA staff development program. TESA is an intervention program designed to encourage non-discriminatory behavior toward all students in the classroom in order to increase academic performance.The original TESA research was conducted in 1974 by Sam Kerman and Mary Martin in school districts in Los Angeles, California. This 1989 TESA study covered five school years from 1982-1983 through 1986-1987, and followed the progress of 102 students through three consecutive years of being taught by a TESA-trained teacher, or a teacher not trained in TESA skills, in 246 classrooms.A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) indicated that neither group (TESA or other) or race (black or other) were found to be statistically significant in improving students' academic achievements on the CTBS. Although some academic gains were noted for students taught by TESA-trained teachers over a three-year period, the gains were not statistically significant. TESA continues to be a staff development program many school systems support, but perhaps the interest should not include the expectation that low achieving students will significantly improve academic achievement.