Student Achievement and Performance Between Specialized and Non-Specialized Teacher Groups in Elementary Schools

Abstract

Teachers matter with respect to student achievement and performance. Teacher specialization is one of the education reforms to enhance teacher effectiveness and promote student achievement. However, the study of teacher specialization in elementary schools is limited, making it challenging to understand better when and under which conditions teacher specialization impacts student achievement. Such an issue may raise challenges to advancing teacher specialization, promoting the teacher workforce, and increasing education reform efficiency. This study aims to explore the association between elementary teacher specialization and student achievement and performance. The results revealed a negative association between the growth of student test scores and elementary teacher specialization in ELA and STEM in a large school district in a southeastern state. Also, the results illustrated that student score differences between their teachers’ specialization types depended on grade levels. Student attendance rates in science classes were correlated with their STEM teachers’ specialization types. We discuss several possible factors that influenced the findings, providing suggestions to researchers and policymakers regarding the implementation of teacher specialization in elementary schools.