Doctoral research · University of North Carolina Wilmington · 2026
Advanced Teaching
Roles.
What happens when excellent teachers have a formal role in strengthening instruction beyond their own classroom?
The question
Districts need ways to improve student learning and give teachers meaningful opportunities to lead. My dissertation examined whether North Carolina's Advanced Teaching Roles (ATR) model was associated with differences in grade-level proficiency, EVAAS academic growth, and teacher retention.
A quantitative, nonexperimental comparison of one ATR district and three similar non-ATR districts from 2021–22 through 2024–25. Student analyses included 557 school-year observations; retention was examined separately at the district-year level.
What the evidence showed
Proficiency
ATR district school mean, compared with 45.99% in comparison districts; a 3.77 percentage-point difference.
EVAAS growth
ATR district mean growth index, compared with −0.92 in comparison districts; a 1.40-point difference.
Retention
ATR district mean, compared with 83.53%; the statistical comparison was inconclusive (p = .123).
Source: Paschal, dissertation defense findings, UNCW, 2026. These are study-group comparisons, separate from the Brunswick County Schools results on the homepage.
What it could mean for districts
ATR offers a promising way to distribute instructional leadership. Teachers in advanced roles can model practice, support colleagues, strengthen collaboration, and extend their expertise across classrooms. The academic results in this study were consistent with that possibility, with a stronger signal for growth than for proficiency.
The potential depends on implementation. District leaders need clear roles, preparation and support, strong principal partnerships, time for collaboration, and a way to examine whether the model is working in each school. A title alone cannot create the conditions for improvement.
What the study cannot claim
ATR was not assigned randomly, and the study compared one ATR district with three other districts. Other district conditions may have contributed to the differences. The available data did not directly measure how faithfully ATR was implemented. The retention sample was small at the district-year level, so its positive pattern is not conclusive. These results show association, not proof that ATR caused an outcome.
The next questions
- Do the patterns hold across more ATR districts and over a longer period?
- Which role designs and supports help teacher leaders influence classroom practice?
- How do advanced teaching roles and instructional coaches complement one another?
- Can stronger teacher-level evidence clarify effects on retention and professional growth?
Study promising approaches with humility. Build the role and the surrounding conditions well, listen to teachers and principals, and measure student and workforce outcomes over time.