Pipeline By Darwin Evander Mills

• The main purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between collective teacher efficacy and the achievement gap among a sample of third-grade mathematics students. The research questions guiding this study were: (1) What differences exist between teacher rankings of collective teacher efficacy based on teaching experience and schools with varying achievement gaps and poverty levels? (2) How do the third-grade Standards of Learning mathematics test scores compare in schools with varying collective teacher efficacy rankings, achievement gaps, and poverty levels? A collective teacher efficacy survey, likert style, including demographic information about years of teaching experience, was given to each kindergarten through third-grade teacher at 15 elementary schools in one school division in Virginia. A mean efficacy score was computed to determine if a school had low- or high-efficacy. Each school was given a low-, medium-, or high-poverty ranking based on their percentage of students that qualified for free and reduced meal lunch (FARM). Mean scores from the third-grade Standards of Learning mathematics tests were computed for student subgroups (i.e., white, black, FARM, and non-FARM) of each school. White-black achievement score gaps and SES achievement score gaps were determined and the schools were categorized as low, medium, or high gap schools. The analysis of the demographic information from the survey showed no statistical difference for teacher rankings of low or high collective efficacy when compared to varying achievement gap rankings or when comparing experienced teacher rankings of collective teacher efficacy to less-experienced teachers. However, a statistical difference was observed when comparing teacher rankings of collective teacher efficacy to varying school poverty levels. The analysis of the achievement showed strong statistical differences in student scores based on collective teacher efficacy, poverty, and racial groups.