Research by Author & Topic

Publications by Jane Hannaway on Elementary/Secondary Schools

Testimony of CALDER Director Jane Hannaway before the D.C. City Council on the human capital initiatives of the District of Columbia's Public Schools, given January 16, 2009. Hannaway describes CALDER's work on teacher quality addressing three main findings: (1) Teachers are the most important school factor that affects student learning, and the variation in effectiveness across teachers is large; (2) The variation in teacher effectiveness is greater within schools than the variation between schools; and (3) The variation in teacher effectiveness, both within and between schools, is a management problem that begs for attention. Hannaway argues at least some of this variation is a civil rights problem that demands policy attention and urges DCPS to continue to pursue new human capital management strategies to ensure teacher quality for all students.

Teach for America (TFA) selects and places graduates from the most competitive colleges as teachers in the lowest-performing schools in the country. This paper is the first study that examines TFA effects in high school. We use rich longitudinal data from North Carolina and estimate TFA effects through cross-subject student and school fixed-effects models. We find that TFA teachers tend to have a positive effect on high school student test scores relative to non-TFA teachers, including those who are certified in-field. Such effects exceed the impact of additional years of experience and are particularly strong in math and science.

The difficult tasks for District of Columbia policymakers and education administrators, the Urban Institute's Jane Hannaway told a Senate subcommittee, are how to get more high-performing teachers in the classroom (especially classrooms serving the most disadvantaged students), how to hold teachers and schools accountable for student performance, and how to do it fairly. Reforms that promote teacher effectiveness should no doubt be tried, but reforms should be guided by data systems that provide feedback on how well the reforms are doing and how they might be fine tuned.

In this Washington Times op-ed, senior education researcher Jane Hannaway explains that few school districts and states link student test performance to individual teachers. Getting good information on teacher quality might be the most important thing for a better school system.

Governance reform is "no magic bullet" for boosting student achievement, Jane Hannaway told the District of Columbia City Council, because of the effects of other direct, indirect, and interactive factors. The director of the Urban Institute's Education Policy Center pointed out, however, that mayoral control of the school system may establish conditions that make it more likely that effective education policies and practices will be put in place.

[Riverside Press Enterprise] Jane Hannaway, director of the Education Policy Center, believes the United States can achieve a top-notch public education system. What can we do to catch up and excel? At the top of the list: We have to reach directly into the classroom to improve teacher quality.

Hurricane Katrina destroyed most of New Orleans' public education system. As the region rebuilds, public school availability--and quality--will play important roles in determining whether families return. For the foreseeable future, the system will need to operate amid uncertainty about how many students it needs to educate and how they will be distributed across neighborhoods. The city and state response to the challenge must be aimed at two key objectives: adaptability and quality. This essay draws upon recent experience in other cities to outline a strategy for rebuilding New Orleans' public education system. If such a strategy is implemented, it could pioneer new ways of organizing public education in cities nationwide.

Both the United States and England initiated ambitious standards-based education reform to eliminate large gaps between their highest and lowest achievers. England appears to be ahead, having started in 1988 with a national curriculum, tests, and performance tables. The United States' No Child Left Behind Act began rewriting state rules in 2002 with more incentives and punitive measures aimed at school performance. Viewing the contrasts as opportunity, educators and policymakers from each side of the Atlantic gathered in Philadelphia in mid-October for the second half of a dialogue on urban education. This policy brief offers highlights from their discussions.

[Cincinnati Enquirer] Teacher quality is arguably the most important in-school influence on student achievement. And, perhaps not surprisingly, teacher quality makes the most difference for students from disadvantaged families. Educational professionals and researchers alike also know that teachers vary greatly in their effectiveness. So isn't it surprising—and unacceptable—that teachers in schools serving the most disadvantaged students are typically the least experienced and least qualified?

[United Press International] A year ago the No Child Left Behind Act was hailed as a story of bipartisan success and a promising way to boost student achievement. But behind the scenes, states are individually trying to strike deals with federal authorities to sidestep provisions. The federal legislation's goal—to make all schools accountable for achieving high standards for all students—is both laudable and hard to oppose. But achieving this federally set goal when states retain constitutional authority over public education is another, far more contentious matter.