Overview Research Reports Policy Briefs Occasional Papers Working Papers Focused on Washington State By Alpha By Author By Topic Related Journal Articles & Books

CTP Research Related to Teaching & Policy in Washington State

Some of the Center's research focuses on teaching and policy in Washington State and/or draws heavily from sites and samples within the state. The following pieces will be of particular interest to audiences focused on these matters within Washington State.

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Building Systems of Support for Classroom Teachers Working with Second Language Learners
A Report Prepared for The Center for Strengthening the Teaching Profession by Ana M. Elfers, Tom Stritikus, Kristin Percy Calaff, Kerry Soo Von Esch, Audrey Lucero, Michael S. Knapp, & Margaret L. Plecki, July 2009.
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Development and Deployment of a "Fast Response" Survey System in Washington State: Methodological Notes
A Working Paper commissioned by the Center for Strengthening the Teaching Profession (CSTP) by Ana M. Elfers, Michael S. Knapp, and Margaret L. Plecki, with Beth Boatright and Hilary Loeb, April 2004.
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District Policy and Beginning Teachers: Where the Twain Shall Meet
A Research Report by Pamela Grossman, Sheila Valencia, and Clarissa Thompson, June 2001.
Description:
This Research Report looks at the role that policies concerning curriculum, professional development, and mentoring in two reform-active districts played in shaping the experiences and concerns of three first-year language arts teachers.
Abstract:
This analysis considers what role district policy environments play in the lives of beginning teachers. As part of a longitudinal study of teacher learning in the language arts, the authors followed 10 teachers from their final year of teacher education into their first three years of teaching. In this paper, they examined the role that policies concerning curriculum, professional development, and mentoring in two reform-active districts played in shaping the experiences and concerns of three first-year language arts teachers. The questions asked in the study locate it at the intersection of two distinct literatures�the literature on beginning teachers and the literature on the relationship of policy and practice. Whereas other studies on beginning teacher concerns have taken a psychological perspective, focusing on the individual teacher as the explanatory factor, this study employs a more sociocultural view, looking at the broader contexts in which individual teachers work. The authors found that the two districts served powerful roles as teacher educators. The tasks the districts assigned the teachers, the resources they provided, the learning environments they created, the assessments they designed and the conversations they provoked proved to be consequential for what the teachers came to learn about language arts teaching and teaching in general.
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An Examination of Longitudinal Attrition, Retention, and Mobility Rates of Beginning Teachers in Washington State
A Report prepared for the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies by Margaret L. Plecki, Ana M. Elfers, and Michael S. Knapp, June 2006.
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Examining Teacher Retention and Mobility in Small and Rural Districts in Washington State
A Research Report by Ana M. Elfers and Margaret L. Plecki, November 2006.
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High School Teachers in the Workforce: Examining Teacher Retention, Mobility, School Characteristics and School Reform Efforts
A Report prepared for the Center for Strengthening the Teaching Profession (CSTP) by Ana M. Elfers, Margaret L. Plecki and Michelle McGowan, July 2007.
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Meeting the Needs of Failing Readers: Cautions and Considerations for State Policy
An Occasional Paper by Marsha Riddle Buly and Sheila Valencia, April 2003.
Description:
In this CTP Occasional Paper, the authors' findings are a caution to policymakers and educators who may be tempted to treat the same all students who score "below standard" on statewide reading assessments. By probing beneath student's failing scores on a 4th-grade state reading assessment, the authors found that scores masked distinctive and multifaceted problems having to do with 1) word identification, 2) fluency, and 3) meaning. To have treated the same all students who had failed would have been to miss the different instructional emphases called for by their underlying skills, strategies, and needs. The paper presents reading profiles of failing students and discusses five potential areas as potential policy levers for improving student performance in reading.
Abstract:
Every year thousands of students fail state reading tests and every year policymakers and educators search for strategies to help these students succeed. In this study, we probed beneath students' failing scores on a state reading assessment to investigate the specific reading abilities that may have contributed to student performance. We found that scores on state tests mask distinctive and multifaceted problems having to do with word identification, fluency, and meaning. Our findings are a caution to policymakers and educators who may be tempted to treat the same all students who score "below standard" on statewide reading assessments that now proliferate the education landscape. To do so is to miss the different instructional emphases called for by the underlying skills, strategies, and needs of failing students. Such a practice not only limits individual student progress; it may lead to an oversimplification of reform efforts and evaluation. This report presents reading profiles of failing students and discusses five areas-instruction; multiple indicators; alignment among standards, assessment, and instruction; allocation of resources; and evaluating reform-as potential policy levers for improving student performance in reading.
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National Board Certified Teachers in Washington State: Impact on Professional Practice and Leadership Opportunities
A Report prepared for the Center for Strengthening the Teaching Profession (CSTP) by Hilary Loeb, Ana M. Elfers, Margaret L. Plecki, Brynnen Ford, and Michael S. Knapp, October 2006.
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Preparation and Support for Teaching: Support for Teachers' Professional Learning
A Working Paper commissioned by the Center for Strengthening the Teaching Profession (CSTP) by Ana M. Elfers, Beth Boatright, and Michael S. Knapp, with Margaret L. Plecki and Hilary Loeb, June 2004.
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Preparation and Support for Teaching: Teachers' Assignment and Certification
A Working Paper commissioned by the Center for Strengthening the Teaching Profession (CSTP) by Ana M. Elfers, Michael S. Knapp, and Margaret L. Plecki, with Beth Boatright, and Hilary Loeb, April 2004.
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Preparation and Support for Teaching: Teachers' Response to State Education Reform
A Working Paper prepared for the Center for Strengthening the Teaching Profession (CSTP) by Ana M. Elfers, Michael S. Knapp, Amrita Zahir, and Margaret L. Plecki, March 2005.
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Preparation and Support for Teaching: Working Conditions of Teachers
A Working Paper commissioned by the Center for Strengthening the Teaching Profession (CSTP) by Hilary Loeb, Ana M. Elfers, Michael S. Knapp, and Margaret L. Plecki, with Beth Boatright, May 2004.
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Preparing for Reform, Supporting Teachers' Work: Surveys of Washington State Teachers, 2003-04 School Year
A Summary Report commissioned by the Center for Strengthening the Teaching Profession (CSTP) by Michael S. Knapp, Ana M. Elfers, and Margaret L. Plecki, with Hilary Loeb, Beth Boatright, and Nick Cabot, August 2004.
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Teacher Retention and Mobility: A Look Inside and Across Districts and Schools in Washington State
A Report prepared for the Center for Strengthening the Teaching Profession (CSTP) by Margaret L. Plecki, Ana M. Elfers, Hilary Loeb, Amrita Zahir, and Michael S. Knapp, March 2005.
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Teachers Count: Support for Teachers' Work in the Context of State Reform
A Report prepared for the Center for Strengthening the Teaching Profession (CSTP) by Michael S. Knapp, Ana M. Elfers, Margaret L. Plecki, Hilary Loeb, and Amrita Zahir, August 2005.
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Teaching Math in Washington's High Schools: Insights from a Survey of Teachers in High Performing or Improving Schools
A Research Report by Ana M. Elfers, Margaret L. Plecki, Michael S. Knapp, Gahram J. Yeo, and Michelle McGowan, June 2007.
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Undergraduates' Views of K-12 Teaching as a Career Choice
A Report Prepared for The Professional Educator Standards Board by Ana M. Elfers, Margaret L. Plecki, Elise St. John, Rebecca Wedel.
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Understanding Reading Test Failure: Challenges for State and District Policy
Policy Brief 8, July 2003.
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Using Sociocultural Theory to Link Individual and Organizational Learning Processes: The Case of Highline School District's Instructional Improvement Reform
An Occasional Report in collaboration with The Spencer Foundation by Chrysan Gallucci, January 2007.
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Who's Teaching Washington's Children? A 2006 Update
A Report prepared for the Center for Strengthening the Teaching Profession (CSTP) by Margaret L. Plecki, Ana M. Elfers, and Michael S. Knapp, January 2007.
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Who's Teaching Washington's Children? What We Know-and Need to Know-About Teachers and the Quality of Teaching in the State
A Technical Report commissioned by the Center for Strengthening the Teaching Profession (CSTP) by Margaret Plecki, Ana Elfers, and Michael S. Knapp, August 2003.
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