A teacher’s years of experience did not predict how pupils did in grades 4 to 6

In a large mid-high poverty district, years of teaching showed no significant link to pupils' test scores, social-emotional learning or discipline; prior scores and classroom composition mattered far more.

Illustration of an upper-elementary classroom with a teacher at the front and pupils working at their desks
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How many years a teacher had been teaching made no measurable difference to how their pupils did, according to a study of upper-elementary classrooms in a large school district. Pupils’ own backgrounds and the make-up of their class predicted results far better.

The study, titled “The Effect of Teacher Experience on Student Test and Non-Test Outcomes: Implications for Educational Policy,” was written by Jeongim Jin, Stephen G. West and Geoffrey D. Borman, of Regenesis Biomedical and Arizona State University. It was published online in Educational Policy on October 17, 2026.

Tests, social skills and discipline

The researchers looked at pupils in grades 4 to 6 in a large district with mid to high levels of poverty. Rather than test scores alone, they examined several outcomes: state assessments in English language arts and mathematics, social-emotional learning, the number of disciplinary incidents and how severe those incidents were.

They used multilevel models that adjusted for a wide set of characteristics of the pupils and of the classrooms they sat in.

No link with years of teaching

Years of teaching had no significant relationship with any of the outcomes.

Test scores were instead tied to a pupil’s score the year before, being identified as gifted, the language spoken at home and English learner status. Social-emotional and disciplinary outcomes were linked to race or ethnicity, gender and special education status.

At the classroom level, the strongest predictor was the average prior-year score of the pupils in the class on the same outcome.

Why it matters

Teacher pay scales and staffing rules often lean on years of experience. The authors conclude that pupil and classroom factors predict both academic and non-academic results more strongly than experience does in this setting.

The abstract does not give the number of pupils or teachers, or the range of experience in the sample, so how widely the result applies cannot be judged from it.

Study Details:

  • Title: The Effect of Teacher Experience on Student Test and Non-Test Outcomes: Implications for Educational Policy
  • Authors: Jeongim Jin, Stephen G. West, Geoffrey D. Borman
  • Journal: Educational Policy
  • Publication Date: October 17, 2026 (online)
  • DOI: 10.1177/08959048261486396