Title page
Contents
Summary 3
Why this study? 6
What the study examined 8
What the study found 11
Roughly 40 percent of middle school Algebra I teachers held a certification that allowed them to teach content beyond Algebra I 11
About 62 percent of middle school Algebra I teachers held a graduate degree, and about 61 percent majored in math 11
Teachers with a middle school certification and teachers with a high school certification tended to have different education backgrounds 12
Over 40 percent of teachers had either 4-6 or 19 or more years of experience teaching math 12
The most frequently taken exam in the certification process was the Praxis II Middle School Mathematics exam, which most teachers passed 12
The second most frequently taken exam in the certification process was the Praxis II Mathematics: Content Knowledge exam, which most teachers passed 14
The teacher qualification most strongly associated with Algebra I achievement for all middle school students was performance on math certification exams, followed by years of experience... 14
Teacher performance on at least one math certification exam was strongly associated with middle school students' Algebra I achievement for all students in under-represented and... 15
Years of experience teaching math was strongly associated with middle school students' Algebra I achievement for Hispanic students and students eligible for the national school lunch program 15
When taught by a teacher with a continuous certification, middle school students who were eligible for the national school lunch program had higher Algebra I achievement 16
When taught by a teacher with an education specialist degree, both Black and Hispanic middle school students had higher Algebra I achievement 16
Implications of the study findings 17
Appendix A. Expanded literature review 19
Appendix B. Data preparation and the regression model 22
Appendix C. Demographic characteristics of teachers and students, by teacher certification exam 31
Note 32
References 33
Table 1. Variables related to middle school teacher qualifications that were strongly associated with Algebra I achievement for all students and for students in under-represented and... 16
Figure 1. Most middle school Algebra I teachers in Missouri were certified to teach content up to Algebra I, and most held a continuous or lifetime certification 11
Figure 2. Most middle school Algebra I teachers in Missouri held a graduate degree, and most majored in math 12
Figure 3. A smaller proportion of middle school Algebra I teachers in Missouri with a middle school certification majored in math, but a larger proportion held a graduate degree compared... 13
Figure 4. The two largest categories of years of experience teaching math among middle school Algebra I teachers in Missouri were 4-6 years and 19 or more years 13
Figure 5. Most teachers who took the Praxis II Middle School Mathematics exam achieved a passing score 14
Figure 6. Most teachers who took the Praxis II Mathematics: Content Knowledge exam achieved a passing score 15
Boxes
Box 1. Key terms 7
Box 2. Data, sample, and methods 8
Box 3. Teacher certification exams 10
Table B1. Teacher- and student-level data used in the analysis of the relationship between the qualifications of middle school Algebra I teachers in Missouri and middle school students'... 23
Table B2. Complete elastic-net regression coefficients predicting middle school students' Algebra I achievement based on teacher qualifications in Missouri 25
Table B3. Additional variables included in elastic-net regressions predicting middle school students' Algebra I achievement based on teacher qualifications in Missouri (zero coefficient... 28
Table C1. Characteristics of middle school Algebra I teachers and their students in Missouri, by certification exam taken 31