Study Links Teacher Learning with Student Success

Walden elementary reading and literacy courses help teachers achieve larger gains in student reading fluency.

Walden University, an accredited university that partners with Canter to provide graduate—credit courses, has announced the findings of a research study measuring the effectiveness of its graduates in the classroom.

The study results reveal that students of teachers who graduated from Walden’s M.S. in Education program with a specialization in Elementary Reading and Literacy (PreK–6) made larger gains in reading fluency than students of non—Walden—master’s educated teachers.

The independent study evaluated data from 2006 to 2008 involving teachers in the Tacoma Public Schools in the state of Washington and compared Walden teachers to peers with similar experience and education.

“The study yielded a number of positive findings in the early literacy performance of students being taught by Walden graduates. The research appears to help shed light on the link between good teaching and student learning, especially in the area of acquiring skills in early reading," says Pat Cummings, director of research and evaluation for Tacoma Public Schools.

Key study highlights include

• Students of teachers who graduated from Walden’s M.S. in Education program with a specialization in Elementary Reading and Literacy (PreK–6) had gains in reading fluency that were on average 4.8 words per minute or 14% greater than students of non—Walden—master’s-educated teachers.
• These gains were largest in first grade, where students of Walden teachers averaged 5.4 more words per minute than students of the non—Waldenmaster’s educated teachers.
• The positive impact Walden teachers had on student reading fluency translated into more efficient use of instructional time. The findings suggest that the cumulative effect of having a Walden teacher in grades 1 to 5 would show a combined gain in reading fluency of 11.6 words per minute. When translated into weeks of instruction, this gain is equivalent to a total of 10.6 weeks, or one—third of an entire school year.

Courses featured in the M.S. in Education program with a specialization in Elementary Reading and Literacy (PreK–6) are available as reading courses through the course finder.

For more information regarding the study, click here.