The most “highly rated” teachers should be assigned to lower-achieving students to raise GCSE grades, a report suggests.
The researchers from the University of Bristol used observation data of 251 maths and English teachers with just over 7,000 Year 11 students in England from 32 state schools over a two-year period.
Peer teachers who observed the lessons looked at both the type of learning activity used, and for how long, with the list of activities including “lecturing or dictation” and “children doing written work alone”.
The peer teachers then rated the teachers’ effectiveness using a detailed rubric.
Students taught by a teacher who had been rated as highly effective scored better than those taught by a teacher from the bottom quartile.
The researchers found that this mattered less for “relatively higher achieving students and classes” but made a greater difference for average or below-average students.
“Our finding is that lower-achieving students’ GCSE scores appear to benefit more from highly rated teachers than do their higher-achieving peers’ scores,” the report says.
It notes that, in the research, “as elsewhere”, lower-achieving students were less likely to be assigned highly rated teachers and that “this pattern emphasises the importance of thoughtful decisions about assigning students to teachers”.
Peer group work ‘best for English’
The research also found that in maths, students gained higher marks at GCSE with teachers who gave more time to do individual practice, whereas, for English, more time working with classmates led to higher grades.
“Our results suggest the typical maths teacher should work on student practice, perhaps increasing class time for practice or focusing on building related teaching skills,” the report says.
“But the typical English teacher should start with peer group work, not individual practice,” it adds.
The report says that the difference in the kinds of classroom activities used could impact students’ future earnings long term because of the impact on their GCSE grades.
The typical change in the use of lesson time, leading to higher GCSE grades and better salaries, generated an extra £150,000 of lifetime income every year for a class of 30 students, the report says.
Variations in classroom activities also accounted for around a third of the total influence teachers had on their students’ GCSE grades.
Lead author Simon Burgess, professor of economics, said: “Whether or not you have an effective teacher is by far the most important factor influencing students’ GCSEs, outside of your family background.
“This unique research unlocks the black box to effective teaching, helping us understand what specific teaching practices are more likely to produce better test scores.
“This is crucial to know as it could also make a dramatic difference to a child’s life chances and their potential future earnings.
“Now we know the added importance of effective teaching for lower-achieving students, the research could also be used to inform and advance the ‘levelling-up’ agenda, helping underprivileged students thrive.”
