MACC has brought together a technical assistance team made up of federally funded service providers to assist the Delaware State Education Agency. The team is conducting a study of the distribution of highly qualified teachers in the state, as well as the policies, practices, and conditions that affect that distribution. It is anticipated that the results of this study will inform state policy on equitable access to highly qualified teachers for students in all socioeconomic groups.
Partners in this work include the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality, which is developing surveys and interview protocols for the study, and the Regional Education Laboratory Mid-Atlantic, which is providing support on research design and data analysis. MACC is coordinating the project and piloting the data collection instruments. This project is an example of how Comprehensive Centers and Regional Education Laboratories can combine their varied skills and resources to serve SEAs.
The study will seek to answer the following questions:
- What are some of the reasons that out of field teaching occurs at the secondary level?
- What are the school conditions that contribute to recruiting and retaining experienced and highly qualified teachers?
- What are some of the LEA and SEA policies, perceived or real, that facilitate or present barriers to equity?
Motivation for Collaboration across Centers
The Delaware Department of Education (DDOE) asked MACC for assistance in identifying the reasons behind a perceived inequity in the distribution of experienced and highly qualified teachers across the state. The SEA’s original vision involved collecting survey data from schools and districts to discover the motives and unwritten practices that affect teacher assignments. MACC pointed out that the nature of the qualitative data needed to address this question made it unlikely that a survey alone would be a productive way of collecting information. In addition, Regional Comprehensive Centers are instructed to use research, not to produce it independently. MACC approached the REL-Mid-Atlantic, which was already conducting research in Delaware, to assist with the research design and data analysis. As the team began developing research questions, it became necessary to consult experts in the area of teacher quality to be sure that the questions were properly framed. NCCTQ joined the team and offered to create three data collection instruments for the study that could be used in any state across the country.
Benefits of Collaboration
Together, three federally funded service providers are able to provide sophisticated support to an SEA that none of them could have provided alone.
Delaware will gain a thorough understanding of any equity issues related to the distribution of teachers in the state. Policy decisions can be informed by this information.
- MACC is leveraging resources to increase the value of the technical assistance it provides to Delaware.
- REL-Mid-Atlantic is engaging in work that has a high priority in the state, and is building its relationship with the SEA as a service provider.
- NCCTQ has developed instruments for this study that will be featured at their national conference and which they will use with other states.
LEA Involvement
Eleven Delaware LEAs will be included in this study. Due to their role in local teacher hiring, district human resources personnel will be interviewed about teacher hiring practices and the factors that influence them. Ultimately, the results of the study will be shared with districts, and changes in state policy that promote equity in teacher distribution will benefit students, schools, and LEAs.
For more information about the Delaware Teacher Quality Study, contact Barbara Hicks, MACC's Delaware Coordinator at bhicks@ceee.gwu.edu.