Dive Brief:

• A new study conducted by the RAND Corporation found that leadership coaching and mentoring for teachers boosted students' test scores in some content areas.
• The researchers looked at a fellowship program based in New Orleans that gives teachers and administrators in Kansas City, MO, and New Orleans two years of training, professional development, and leadership coaching; the fellows then train other teachers.
• Students of fellows and teachers mentored by the fellows scored significantly better in math, and a similar pattern held in social studies, but there were no improvements of statistical importance in other subject areas.

Dive Insight:

The fellowship program, which was created by New Orleans-based nonprofit Leading Educators, has an unusual model. Most intensive training programs focus on new teachers, but this one focused on teachers who had already been in the classroom a while. And it's still small. The study included the experiences of just 75 fellows, though more have completed the program.

The results are promising, if preliminary. Finding ways to boost the performance of teachers who are already in the classroom is important. Turnover and new teacher training are costly. And despite widespread misconceptions about early career turnover, most teachers actually stay in the classroom, which means support for mid-career teachers will have to be a part of improving schools.

Still, the study’s researchers urge caution because of the small sample size and preliminary nature of the results. As the program grows, they’ll get a much better sense for how effective it is.