Tools 
Capacity 
Having trouble viewing a PDF file? You may need to download the latest Adobe Reader available FREE from the following site.
Adobe Acrobat Reader Official Download
Teacher Effectiveness and Distribution
The high schools that have low graduation rates – and the middle schools that feed into those high schools – typically have the least qualified teachers, the highest number of vacancies, and the greatest teacher turnover. Ninth graders often bear the brunt of this difficulty in attracting and retaining qualified, committed teachers.
In keeping with one of our key research strategies – merging databases to find new relationships – we have merged teacher and student databases from large urban districts. From these data, we have examined how teacher qualifications are distributed within high schools, the effect of elementary versus secondary level credentials at the middle grades level, and whether the best middle grades math and science teachers are more likely to resign from their district.
Within School Variation in Teacher Quality:
The Case of the Ninth Grade.
This paper examines the characteristics of teachers who are assigned to teach ninth graders in a large urban district. The authors find that ninth graders are disproportionately likely to be taught by teachers who are uncertified and/or new to the school.
Within-school variation in teacher quality: The case of ninth grade. Neild, R.C., & Farley, E. (2008).The American Journal of Education, 114(3): 271-306.
Teacher Certification and Math and Science Achievement in the Middle Grades
This paper examines whether the type of teacher certification (elementary, secondary math/science, special education, other certification, or no certification) affects academic growth in math and science for middle grades students. The authors find that students with elementary and secondary certified teachers outscore those with uncertified teachers and those who are certified in special education. Especially strong effects are seen in science, where students with secondary science-certified teachers substantially outscore those with any other kind of teacher.
Teacher Certification and Math and Science Achievement in the Middle Grades.
Neild, R.C., Farley, E., & Byrnes, V. (Forthcoming). The effect of teacher certification on middle grades achievement in an urban district. Educational Policy.
Teacher Turnover in Urban Middle Schools
This case study of a science reform program in the middle grades highlights how the instructional payoff from investments in intensive professional development in science was diminished by 1) teachers leaving the school and 2) assignment of teachers to subjects other than those for which they had received the professional development.
Teacher Turnover in Urban Middle Schools
Ruby, A. (2002). Internal teacher turnover in urban middle school reform. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 7(4): 379-406.