Dynamics of preservice teacher quality

Abstract This study examined the improvement trajectories and rate of change in the teaching quality of 1283 preservice teachers over the course of their student residency. The quality of student teaching was measured four consecutive times using an observational rubric. Results indicate that student teachers improve at significantly different rates and these differences are related to their background characteristics such as age, race, and college GPA. We identified two groups of student teachers based on the trajectories of their improvement in teaching practices, and found that the rapidly improving group ended two standard deviations above the rest of the sample. Implications for teacher preparation programs are discussed.