Chemistry Teacher Isolation, Contextual Characteristics, and Student Performance

This case study explored chemistry teacher isolation through the compilation and analysis of contextual characteristics and student performance data of 895 public schools and 2321 chemistry teachers in New York State in 2011-12. Data on the teachers' qualifications along with school characteristics were collected from several independent, publicly available data sources. Chemistry teacher characteristics included professional age, certification type (primary or secondary), and whether the teachers were isolated, that is, the only teachers of chemistry in their schools. School-level data included socioeconomic status, chemistry course-taking rates, and passing rates on the statewide high-stakes chemistry exam. Analysis revealed that more than half of public secondary schools in New York State had isolated chemistry teachers, and they were concentrated in urban schools and had less professional teaching experience. When examining the chemistry performance of students of isolated teachers in a multivariable model, it was determined that school-level socioeconomic status, chemistry-taking ratio, certification type, and professional age were predictors, accounting for 27% of the variance in scores. Results were consistent with mediation analyses indicating both teacher professional age and school test-taking ratio mediated the relationship between socioeconomic status and chemistry passing rate, suggesting that teaching experience and chemistry course-taking rates mitigated the effects of poverty on student chemistry performance. These findings have implications for education policy makers indicating that teacher preparation and induction programs should be re-examined to address: (1) teaching chemistry in isolation and (2) the relationships among school conditions, chemistry teacher retention, and high school chemistry students' achievement.