A new working paper by C. Kirabo Jackson, Assistant Professor at Northwestern, takes a closer look at value-added measures and their application to high school teachers. Jackson notes that there is ample research at the elementary level detailing the importance of individual teachers on student outcomes in reading and math, but there isn’t much supporting Read more about Do High School Teachers Matter?[…]
The National Education Writers Association (EWA) has released a research brief on teacher effectiveness. Organized around several prevailing questions about teacher effectiveness, the brief seeks to synthesize the available research to help leaders make informed decisions as they develop teacher evaluation systems. The brief reviews over 40 specific research studies or syntheses and interviews with Read more about What Studies Say About Teacher Effectiveness[…]
The continuing discussion on teacher evaluations has led many to ask how to go about evaluating teachers in non-tested subjects. Some states have chosen to instead rely heavily on classroom observations; however, a new strategy has evolved that would include a “student learning objectives” (SLO) component. SLOs are “carefully planned goals for what a student Read more about Teacher Evaluations for Non-Tested Subjects: SLOs[…]
In an op-ed piece that appeared in the August 28 issue of the New York Daily News, well-known education scholar and author (and self-identified union critic) Frederick M. Hess blasted the recent decision by the New York state appellate court that will allow New York City to release student achievement data disaggregated on a teacher-by-teacher Read more about Keep the Teacher Data Private[…]
A Center for Teaching Quality (CTQ) white paper links national assessment reform and the need to advance teaching as a results-oriented profession. The paper raises cautions about the use of value-added models (VAMs) as “the preferred method” to estimate the effects of individual teachers on student achievement. Even highly accomplished teachers who embrace accountability, the Read more about New Student Assessments and Advancing Teaching as a Results-Oriented Profession[…]