Teacher Verbal Ability and School Outcomes: Where Is the Evidence?

Many have claimed that teachers' verbal ability is among the most important predictors of school outcomes. Teachers' verbal ability has been thought to predict student achievement ever since the relationship was found in the classic Equality of Educational Opportunity (EEO) study by Coleman et al. By way of meta-analysis the authors examine the evidence on teachers' verbal ability as a predictor of school outcomes. They find that the evidence is not as extensive as might be inferred from prior reports. Results of 19 studies indicate that teachers' verbal ability is at best very weakly related to school outcomes, and the main evidence for this weak relationship arises from the EEO study. Other studies find that verbal ability is unrelated to school outcomes.