Recently in a Top Performers opinion piece in Education Week, Marc Tucker explored the reasons why differences in teacher performance within schools are so prevalent in America and more rare in other countries. Excerpts from the piece appear below: According to an OECD analysis of variation of student performance in Read more
As state education agencies acknowledge, promote, and support the importance of professional development, they continue to search for effective professional learning opportunities for teachers. Micro-credentials—among the newer professional development methods—allow teachers to learn and demonstrate competency in bite-sized elements of instruction. Each micro-credential addresses a discrete set of educational practices. Read more
A study of 100 principals from Miami-Dade County Public Schools finds that while teacher effectiveness varies substantially, principals’ evaluations of teachers often fail to differentiate performance among teachers. In this study, researchers Jason A. Grissom and Susanna Loeb offer new evidence on principals’ subjective evaluations of their teachers’ effectiveness using Read more
The final results from a U.S. Department of Education Investing in Innovation (i3) analysis has found that the New Teacher Center’s teacher induction model increases student learning by up to five months. These third-party evaluation results show that the NTC induction model yields statistically significant gains in student learning. The Read more
Since technology in classrooms looks very different from almost a decade ago when ISTE last released its standards for teachers, the organization has released newly updated ISTE Standards for Educators. The Standards are designed to support educators with a framework for learning, teaching and leading amplified by technology. There are Read more
A study released from the Learning Policy Institute demonstrates how well-designed teacher professional development programs significantly improve student achievement, challenging the logic behind the Administration’s proposal to eliminate funding for those programs. The new report, “Effective Teacher Professional Development,” reviewed 35 scientifically rigorous studies conducted over the past 30 years Read more
Sarah Sparks, writing for Education Week, reviews the research on teacher stress and how it can impact students. Excerpts of her piece appear below: In one 2016 study, University of British Columbia researchers tracked the levels of stress hormones of more than 400 elementary students in different classes. They found Read more
The Center on Great Teachers & Leaders (GTL Center) is out with the third report in a series designed to explore how great teachers have become the excellent educators they are today and what experiences and supports helped these teachers refine their practice over time. The first two reports explored Read more
The National Council on Teacher Quality has followed its study of undergraduate elementary teacher preparation programs with a new study focused on secondary teacher preparation, Landscape in Teacher Preparation: Undergraduate Secondary Education. Since rules and procedures for selectivity in admissions, student teaching, and classroom management cut across teacher prep programs Read more
Andy Smarick, writing for AEI, has penned a piece on the shortcomings of efficiency as an educational goal. Excerpts from his article appear below: There are very good reasons to resist (or at least be skeptical of) efforts to drive “efficiency” in public education. One of the biggest reasons is Read more
The Center on Great Teachers and Leaders has released a new Ask the Team Brief, Teachers Supporting Teachers: State Policies for Non-Classroom-Based Instructors. Across the United States, non-classroom-based positions have been added in districts and schools to provide instructional support to teachers. They go by various names–coach, mentor, teacher leader–but Read more
Igniting the Learning Engine, a new report from Education Resource Strategies, examines how leaders in four school systems have successfully re-organized resources to create the type of effective, job-embedded professional learning that teachers are asking for. The report describes three inter-related elements that these systems have in common: (a) Rigorous, Read more
A new study authored by researchers from Brown and Harvard universities points to one promising strategy for helping current teachers improve: one-on-one coaching. Teacher coaching has emerged as a promising alternative to traditional models of professional development. Authors reviewed the empirical literature on teacher coaching and conducted meta-analyses to estimate Read more
Networked improvement communities are a relatively new type of collaborative research partnership between researchers and educators. With facilitation from researchers, educators identify problems of practice, the factors that drive the problems, and promising solutions. They then engage in iterative cycles of designing, implementing, testing, and redesigning solutions, while learning from Read more
A new suite of teacher leadership self-assessment and readiness tools have been designed for teachers exploring leadership opportunities and leaders considering teacher leadership initiatives. Developed in collaboration and consultation with the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Midwest Educator Effectiveness Research Alliance, REL Midwest, and the Center on Great Teachers and Leaders Read more
Eight school districts just became the nation’s first-ever Great Districts for Great Teachers. This new honor, developed by the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ), recognizes districts for their exceptional programs and policies on recruiting, encouraging, supporting, and retaining great teachers. The winners are: Boston Public Schools; Broward County Public Read more