Want to Close the Achievement Gap? - Closing the Teaching Gap - Linda Darling-Hammond

Oct 15, 2026

The article argues that international test results reveal a growing achievement gap in the United States, and shows that policies tied to No Child Left Behind and more high-stakes testing have not improved outcomes. It highlights evidence from OECD’s TALIS, describing harsher working conditions for American teachers, including higher poverty exposure, larger class sizes, and longer workdays. It also notes reduced peer feedback and less effective professional development, which weaken teaching quality and student achievement progress.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages6

Reading Time15 min

AccessFree to download

About the achievement gap

Limits of testing-focused policy

International evidence from TALIS

Challenges for American teachers

Working conditions and poverty

Class sizes, hours, and planning time

Feedback and professional development

Policy implications

Want to Close the Achievement Gap? | American Federation of Teachers Page 1 of 6 Member Benefits ABOUT US OUR MEMBERS OUR COMMUNITY TAKE ACTION Find your Local PRESS CENTER How to Join OUR NEWS Search Stay Connected Email Address Want to Close the Achievement Gap? SHARE THIS Print Close the Teaching Gap By Linda Darling-Hammond For years now, educators have looked to international tests as a yardstick to measure how well students from the United States are learning compared with their peers. The answer has been: not so well. The United States has been falling further behind other nations and has struggled with a large achievement gap. Federal policy under No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and the U.S. Department of Education’s “flexibility”waivers has sought to address this problem by beefing up testing policies—requiring more tests and upping the consequences for poor results, including denying diplomas to students, firing teachers, and closing schools. Unfortunately, this strategy has not worked. In fact, U.S. performance on the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), declined in every subject area between 2000 and 2012—the years in which these policies have been in effect. Now we have international evidence about something that has a greater effect on learning than testing: teaching. The results of the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS),1 released this past summer by the OECD, offer a stunning picture of the challenges experienced by American teachers, while providing provocative insights into what we might do to foster better teaching—and learning—in the United States. In short, the survey shows that American teachers today work harder under much more challenging conditions than teachers elsewhere in the industrialized world. They also receive less-useful feedback, receive less-helpful professional development, and have less time to collaborate to improve their work. Not surprisingly, two-thirds feel their profession is not valued by society—an indicator that the OECD finds is ultimately related to student achievement. Though it has been conducted since 2008, 2013 was the first time the United States participated in TALIS, which surveyed more than 100,000 lower secondary school teachers and school leaders in 34 jurisdictions worldwide. Although U.S. participation rates fell just below the minimum for full inclusion in the comparative report, [the OECD prepared a U.S. country](the OECD prepared a U.S. country) report. These data tell an important story. U.S. Teachers Face More Poverty, Larger Class Sizes, Longer Days Nearly two-thirds of U.S. middle school teachers work in schools where more than 30 percent of students are economically disadvantaged (see Figure 1) . This is by far the highest rate in the world and more than triple the average TALIS rate. The next countries in line after the United States are Malaysia and Chile. Ignored by our current education policies are the facts that nearly one in four American children lives below the poverty line and a growing number are homeless,2 without regular access to food or healthcare, and stressed by violence and drug abuse around them. Educators now spend a great deal of their time trying to help children and their families manage these issues,3 while they also seek to close skill gaps and promote learning. [http://www.aft.org/ae/winter2014-2015/darling-hammond](http://www.aft.org/ae/winter2014-2015/darling-hammond) Want to Close the Achievement Gap? | American Federation of Teachers Page 2 of 6 (//[www.aft.org/sites/default/files/aeldhfigure1_hr.jpg](www.aft.org/sites/default/files/aeldhfigure1_hr.jpg)) (click image for larger view) Along with these challenges, U.S. teachers must cope with larger class sizes (27 students per class versus the TALIS average of 24) . As shown in Figures 2 and 3, they also report spending many

FAQs

Why does the article say testing-focused policies have not worked?

It states that the strategy under No Child Left Behind and related waivers increased testing and consequences, yet U.S. PISA performance declined in every subject area from 2000 to 2012.

What does TALIS add to the discussion compared with test scores?

The article says TALIS provides a detailed picture of the challenges experienced by American teachers and offers insights into how better teaching and learning could be fostered.

What working-condition differences does the article report for U.S. middle school teachers?

It reports that nearly two-thirds teach in schools with high economic disadvantage, that class sizes and instructional hours are higher than the TALIS average, and that teachers have less time for planning, collaboration, and professional development.

Oct 15, 2026

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