How important is a good teacher?

Leaders who are self-described as four- or five-star teachers are 68% more likely to report that their groups are growing than those who are self-described as one- or two-star teachers.

This one didn’t surprise me. I would have predicted that the better teaching, the more likely the growth. By level of self-description, it broke down like this:

• Five star teachers—48% of groups reported they were growing
• Four star teachers—47% growing
• Three star teachers—37% growing
• Two star teachers—35% growing
• One star teachers—6% growing

This puts to rest another myth you sometimes hear: “We’re not growing numerically; I just concentrate on quality teaching.” Maybe. But the likelihood is the opposite. The better the teaching, the more likely the growth. The less growth, the more likely that the teaching isn’t that good either.

Part of this probably has to do with confidence. Confident teachers would naturally describe themselves as four- and five-star teachers more often than less confident teachers. But, this is not just bravado. In a follow-up survey of participants, members of growing groups were 76% more likely to describe their teachers as five-star teachers and 27% more likely to describe their teachers as four-star teachers. Teachers of growing groups are more likely to describe themselves as better teachers—and their group members are more likely to describe them that way, too.