In response to the release of the Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) project final results , which this blog posted about here, the National Education Policy Center (NEPC) has released a review of the long-awaited study on teacher evaluation that strongly questions the spin that has been put on the Read more
The Measures of Effective Teaching Project, the collective work of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Harvard University’s Center For Education Policy Research, has recently released a detailed report on three years of research on 3,000 teachers in seven school districts that conclusively finds that “the quality of teachers Read more
Memphis City Schools has partnered with Teachscape to install a city-wide system of video capture systems that will allow for improved teacher professional growth. The city expects to use the system for teacher development, support, as well as evaluation. Each school will have at least one device as part of Read more
Economist Douglas Harris sees one clear priority for the Education Department: “Now that the election is over, the Obama Administration and policymakers nationally can return to governing. Of all the education-related decisions that have to be made, the future of teacher evaluation has to be front and center.” Within this Read more
A Pittsburgh Post-Gazette op-ed on teacher evaluations, authored by Mathematica senior fellow Brian Gill and senior researcher Duncan Chaplin, recommends comprehensive teacher evaluation that not only relies on achievement gains but also other valid and reliable measures. Multiple measures are a buzzword, but Gill and Chaplin unpack the options, which Read more
The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has assembled a panel of leading technical experts to work toward a consensus on what is and is not known about value-added measures for teacher evaluation. The Foundation selected individuals who have expertise in statistics and economics, without vested interests in particular Read more
The Hope Street Group will soon be selecting educators to participate as National Teacher Fellows. Selected fellows will be classroom teachers and school coaches from around the country who are leaders among their peers and who want to contribute their ideas and expertise in helping shape national policy. They will Read more
The U.S. Department of Education has recently awarded 30 districts with funding to support new educator evaluation and compensation systems through the Teacher Incentive Fund. This month’s issue brief offers resources and food for thought around educator evaluation. What are the most promising practices for educator evaluation? What evidence is Read more
The first in a new series of two-page briefs summarizing the state of education policy research offers suggestions for policymakers designing teacher evaluation systems. The first paper, Teacher Evaluation, is written by Dr. William Mathis, managing director of the National Education Policy Center, housed at the University of Colorado’s Boulder Read more
Last week, the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) released a new paper focused on the “teacher evaluation binge” that has swept the country. The paper, authored by Sara Meade, Andrew Rotherham, and Rachael Brown, argues that “there are pitfalls in states’ rush to legislate new systems, and there are real tensions Read more
The teachers’ strike in Chicago has generated considerable interest in the use of test-based measures of teacher effectiveness in personnel decisions. For a clear discussion of the uses, value, and limitations of test-based measures check out the CADLER Conversation on the issue. The National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data Read more
Matthew DiCarlo of the Albert Shanker Institute has developed five recommendations for reporters who write stories on state test scores. But these recommendations are not only useful for reporters – educators also would benefit from understanding the nuances of these numbers that are increasingly used to judge worth. 1. Look Read more
The National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (CALDER) has released a paper that explores the growth models available for school and teacher evaluations. The specifics of how growth models should be constructed and used to evaluate schools and teachers is a topic of lively policy debate Read more
Few efforts are as pressing this school year as those of identifying issues and creating new approaches to improve educator quality. In support of these imperatives, (AIR) has released new resources to ensure that leaders have the capabilities and tools needed to successfully improve teaching and learning. The online destinations Read more
In Cincinnati, newly released research finds that teacher participation in a teacher evaluation system that includes highly structured classroom observations increases student performance. Released in the Fall 2012 edition of Education Next, the study looks at practice-based teacher assessment that relies on multiple, highly structured classroom observations conducted by experienced Read more
Sara Mead of Bellwether Education recently wrote in an Education Week blog about her investigation into teacher evaluation legislation in 21 states that have passed laws in the last three years requiring teacher evaluations based in part on student achievement. Bellwether’s study finds that 12 states’ laws link tenure to Read more