A Study of the Relationship Between Teacher Characteristics and Student Performance in High School Geometry

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate whether teacher characteristics, such as years of experience, degree level, degree type, certification type, race, or gender, impact student performance in high school geometry. Research has shown that each student’s mathematical understanding and problem solving ability is primarily shaped by the teaching experiences they encounter in school (Mewborn, 2007). It is hypothesized that there are teacher characteristics that are associated with student growth, which is defined as the numerical score increase from pre-assessment to post-assessment. Teacher characteristic and student assessment data were collected from geometry teachers in a suburban western New York State school district; the data was then analyzed using statistics software to identify any statistically significant relationships between teacher characteristics and student growth means. Through empirical testing, it was found that a geometry teacher’s years of experience, degree level, certification type, and gender all have an impact on student performance in high school geometry.