A GIS Study Identifying the Range of Standardized Test Scores of High School Students in the United States Based on Teacher Quality

Sep 14, 2026

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Teacher quality is a major factor shaping student achievement, yet quantifying its influence remains complex. This study uses geographic information systems (GIS) to examine relationships across the United States between the rate of highly qualified teachers (HQT) and high school students’ average SAT scores. It also considers additional variables that may affect students’ standardized test outcomes. The goal is to identify spatial patterns and provide implications for understanding teacher effectiveness.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages13

Reading Time33 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Teacher quality definitions and policy context

Research approach and variables

Literature Review

Standardized testing

Teacher quality

International Journal of Education and Social Science [www.ijessnet.com](www.ijessnet.com) Vol. 3 No. 11; November 2016 A GIS Study Identifying the Range of Standardized Test Scores of High School Students in the United States Based on Teacher Quality Nouran Ajabnoor Leadership and Policy Ph.D. Program College of Education Niagara University, NY 14109, USA Yonghong Tong, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Department of Computer and Information Sciences College of Art and Sciences Niagara University, NY 14109, USA Abstract Today, the quality of teachers is becoming a big concern for the success of students. Schools and their communities have always sought out the best teachers they could get in the belief that their students’ success depends on it. In fact, teacher quality is the most important school-related factor influencing students’ achievement. In order to measure the effectiveness of teacher quality on public high school students’ achievement, this study will offer implications by using geographic information systems (GIS). This GIS-based study will explore the relationship between the quality of the teacher and students’ success across the nation. The rate of highly qualified teacher (HQT) will be used as a measurement of teacher quality. The high school students’ average SAT score will be used as a measurement for students’ success. This study will also explore other factors that might affect students’ scoring rate. Keywords: Teacher quality, student achievement, SAT score, HQT, GIS. Introduction Teaching is arguably one of the most important jobs in society. Teaching is not only about passing knowledge to students, but also being aware of effective ways to transfer this knowledge. Obtaining knowledge and skills are not enough in educational settings (Kindle & Schmidt, 2011) . In fact, teacher quality is identified as the most important school inﬂuence on student learning. The definitions of teacher quality are grouped according to whether they focus on the qualiﬁcations of the teacher as a reﬂection of competence (degree, certiﬁcation, subject matter credential, experience), the personal or psychological qualities of a teacher (such as love of children, honesty, compassion, fairness), the pedagogical standards that a teacher exhibits (use of certain teaching strategies, classroom management skills, establishment of a positive classroom climate), or the teacher’s demonstrated ability to raise student learning (successful or effective teaching) (Strong, 2011) . Since teacher quality has become a top concern of educational policy, many studies have shown the correlation between student performance and the quality of the teacher. Recently, researchers have looked for changes in students’ test scores according to the teacher they were assigned as a measure of the quality of the teacher (National Center for Education Statistics, 2004) . It was indicated that a highly effective teacher is one whose students show the greatest gains from one year to the next (National Center for Education Statistics, 2004) . It is believed that high teaching quality impacts student learning performance in a significant way. Therefore, to determine the relationship between student performance and teacher quality, this research will use the geographic information systems (GIS) as a visualization and analysis tool to investigate the effects of teacher quality on standardized tests scores-SAT-of high school students in the United States (U.S.) . This study will also explore other factors that might affect students’ standardized test scores other than teacher quality. Literature Review Standardized Testing Standardized tests have been a part of American education since the mid-1800s. In 2002, a new Act called No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was passed and made standardized tests mandatory for all 50 states in the United States (Menken & Solorza, 2014) . A standardized test is a test form that requires all test tak

FAQs

How does the study define and measure teacher quality?

Teacher quality is operationalized using the rate of highly qualified teachers (HQT). The paper also discusses common definitions grouped by qualifications, personal qualities, pedagogical standards, and demonstrated ability to raise learning.

What student success metric is used in the study?

Students’ success is measured using the high school students’ average SAT score.

Why does the study use GIS, and what relationships does it analyze?

GIS is used as a visualization and analysis tool to explore the relationship between teacher quality and standardized test scores across the nation, including potential additional factors affecting scoring rates.

Sep 14, 2026

Uploaded by Dipper