Is teaching a matter of personality? A study of teacher personality and student academic achievement

The study was focused on finding if a relationship exists between seventh and eighth grade middle school student's academic achievement scores and the personality of their classroom teacher. Northwest Evaluation Association utilizes a norm referenced assessment called Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) to monitor the progress students make from year to year. The study used MAP data from central Ohio middle schools and the Big Five Inventory (BFI) data to determine teacher personality traits. The Big Five Inventory is a 44 question survey that utilizes a Likert Scale to identify personality characteristics that aligned with the individual. The study collected student assessment scores over a two year period of time for seventh and eighth graders. The MAP scores were compared to the teacher survey scores on the BFI to determine if a significant relationship exists between academic achievement of students and personality of their teacher. Results from the study indicate that a significant difference does exist in the academic achievement on MAP assessments for seventh and eighth graders and teacher personality style. The results of the study indicate that further research studies need to be conducted in the area of academic achievement and teacher personality at the middle school level.