Making a Difference? The Effects of Teach for America in High School

This report from the Urban Institute’s National Center for the Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (CALDER) finds that at the high school level, Teach for America (TFA) teachers are more effective than experienced teachers across subject areas, but particularly in math and science classes. According to the report, programs such as TFA that focus on recruiting and selecting academically talented recent college graduates and placing them in schools serving disadvantaged students can help reduce the achievement gap, even if teachers only stay in teaching for a few years.