There is a new Best Evidence in Brief, and this time, I picked this study from this biweekly newsletter written by Carmen Pannone, University of Cagliari (Italy).

Teach for America (TFA) recruits and trains teachers to address hard-to-staff vacancies in public schools, providing support throughout their 2-year commitment as corps members. Studies, including randomized controlled trials and analyses of administrative records, have shown that TFA has consistently yielded positive effects on student outcomes, particularly in math, with more modest results  in other subjects such as English Language Arts (ELA).

A recent study aimed to further explore the impact of Teach for America (TFA) by assessing its short- and long-term effects. The authors conducted this study by analyzing data from Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) spanning from 2010 to 2021. Using a fixed effects model to compare outcomes of TFA teachers with a control group of other teachers in the same schools, the authors found statistically significant positive effects of the TFA program on same-year math scores (ES = +0.09) and ELA scores (ES = +0.03). Additionally, they observed a slight decrease in chronic absenteeism (ES = -0.01, non-significant) and suspensions (ES = -0.01, p < .10), along with a slight increase in grade repetition (ES = +0.02). When considering these non-test factors collectively, students in TFA classrooms for a given year exhibited a non-significant overall increase of about +0.01 standard deviations.

Additional analyses exploring the impacts in the year following being in a Teach For America classroom revealed students exposed to TFA tended to demonstrate improved non-test outcomes in their subsequent year of school (ES = +0.03). On the contrary, the positive impact of TFA on math test scores did not appear to be persistent. Recognizing the high turnover rates of TFA corps members in high-need schools, the authors acknowledge that TFA’s presence in such contexts highlights the challenge of securing talented teachers for these schools. In the absence of viable alternative hiring programs, TFA seems to provide a vetted option with demonstrated benefits for students across various outcomes.