Based extensive fieldwork and interviews, this study explains teacher evaluation policy enactment as shaped by three conditions: (1) a principal's backgrounds, role perceptions, knowledge of instruction, and interactions with teachers; (2) teachers' perspectives; and (3) environmental demands. Notably, principals may lack the backgrounds,…

This article examines the re-professionalization of teaching across a transformative decade of market-based and standards-based reforms in the U.S.A. The first section works with the sociological concept of the 'new professionalism' to situate the No Child Left Behind act, Race to the Top, and CAEP accreditation within a broader movement to align…

Teacher perceptions after 5 years of implementing evaluation protocols that were initiated under Race to the Top revealed attitudes about the evaluation instrument used and the nature of their relationship with the evaluator. This study surveyed middle and high school teachers in nine Eastern Tennessee school districts. Data indicated unintended…

The federal Race to the Top initiative signified a shift in American education policy whereby accountability efforts moved from the school to the teacher level. Using administrative data from Tennessee, we explore whether evaluation reforms differentially influenced mobility patterns for teachers of varying effectiveness. We find that the rollout…

Many districts and states have begun implementing incentives to attract high-performing teachers to low-performing schools. Previous research has found that these incentives are effective. However, effects on the schools and students these teachers leave behind has not been examined. This study focuses on the general equilibrium effects of…

This Southeastern state was awarded one of the first two Race to The Top (RTTT) grants the U. S. Department of Education funded. A key piece of the state's winning application was a legislative mandate to implement an intensive, quantitative, and accountability driven teacher evaluation system beginning with the 2011-2012 school year. The new law…

In this report, the authors describe the value-added models used as part of teacher evaluation systems in the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) and in eligible DC charter schools participating in Race to the Top. They estimated (1) teacher effectiveness in DCPS and eligible DC charter schools during the 2011-2012 school year; and (2)…