Teacher effects on student achievement in first grade: which aspects matter most?

The present study investigates the effects of teachers (background, attitudes and beliefs, and instructional practices) on student achievement in math, reading, and spelling in first grade. Theoretical framework and methodology are based on recent work by Palardy and Rumberger (2008). Data from the SiBO-project, a longitudinal study in Flemish primary education, were analyzed using multilevel regression analyses. The results show that teacher background has the largest effect on math achievement, whereas instructional practices have the largest effects on both reading and spelling achievement. Moreover, teacher effectiveness depends on the learning domain at focus: larger teacher effects are found for math than for spelling and reading.