Rationale: Student teaching placements
The most critical aspect of student teaching is finding the best possible teacher to serve as the "cooperating teacher" in whose classroom the teacher candidate will work. The only aspect of student teaching arrangements that have been shown to have an impact on student achievement is the positive effect of selection of the cooperating teacher by the preparation program rather than the student teacher or school district staff.1 Exposure to the very best instruction will permanently shape the candidate's outlook and teaching. The cooperating classroom teacher should be carefully screened to ensure that he or she has demonstrated both the capacity to increase student learning above the average and to mentor an adult.
1Boyd, D., Grossman, P., Lankford, H., Loeb, S., & Wyckoff, J. (Sept. 2008). Teacher preparation and student achievement. National
Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series (No. 14314). Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research.
