Teach for America Baltimore's Impact on the Experience of Special Education Corps Members and Their Students

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact that Teach for America Baltimore pre-service and in-service programming has on Special Education corps members and their students. Two measurement tools were used. Researcher created a Teacher Experience Survey (TES) to determine which essential knowledge, skills, and responsibilities special education corps members felt prepared for. Respondents shared that they did not feel prepared to execute the vast majority of responsibilities needed in Special Education. After collecting Maryland State Assessment scores for special education students in corps member classrooms and traditionally-certified classrooms, a t-test was performed. Statistically-significant difference was not found between treated and untreated groups. Research on the impact of Teach for America on Special Education teachers and their students should continue given the gaps in experience found in survey responses and the lack of impact on math and ELA proficiency scores in comparison to traditionally-certified teachers.