EDUCATION REPORT - Study Gives High Marks to 'Teach for Amer

EDUCATION REPORT - Study Gives High Marks to 'Teach for America'
By Nancy Steinbach

Broadcast: Thursday, July 08, 2004

This is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English Education Report.

Teach for America is a program that has provided more than ten thousand teachers to schools across the country. They have taught more than a million children from poor families.

Teach for America trains recent college graduates to work in low-economic schools in different areas of the country. They are expected to teach for at least two years.

A student at Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey¹, had the idea for Teach for America in nineteen-eighty-nine. Wendy Kopp wrote a paper in which she proposed a national teaching organization.

People supported her idea. Money from major companies helped launch the program. The program has also received money from the federal government. And money comes from people and businesses in areas where the teachers work. Wendy Kopp still leads Teach for America.

Some education experts have criticized the lack of experience that the young teachers have before they begin work. But now the Mathematica Policy Research organization in Princeton has examined the effects of Teach for America.

 
Graphic² Image
The Mathematica study took place in six areas around the country between two-thousand-two and two-thousand-three. It involved nearly two-thousand children in seventeen schools. Researchers tested the students at the beginning and end of the school year. They compared the results of students who had Teach for America teachers with those who did not.

The study found that both groups did equally well on average in reading. The Teach for America group scored higher in mathematics.

But two times as many of the Teach for America teachers reported that physical conflicts among students were a serious problem. Even so, the study found that the two groups of teachers had similar rates of student expulsions and suspensions³.

The researchers had praise for the Teach for America teachers. They say the new educators had more success than teachers with an average of six years of classroom experience.

Most of the Teach for America teachers said they planned to teach for just a few years. About ten percent said they expected to teach until retirement⁴. By comparison, that was true of sixty percent of teachers outside the program.

This VOA Special English Education Report was written by Nancy Steinbach. This is Steve Ember.

1 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

2 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

3 suspensions   

n.悬( suspension的名词复数 )；悬架；暂停；悬浮液

参考例句：

• The two players are appealing against their suspensions. 这两名运动员请求取消对他们的停赛处罚。
• In 1972, International Harvester, Ford, Chrysler, General Motors and Volvo applied for suspensions. 1972年，国际收割机械公司、福特汽车公司、克莱斯勒汽车公司、通用汽车公司和沃尔沃汽车公司都申请了缓期。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

4 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。