By 2012, all of the states in this study had started implementing new or revised teacher and leader evaluation systems. The systems include many and varying updates. In some cases, the updates were designed to meet conditions for a state's "Race to the Top" grant. In others, the updates were made to meet conditions for a state's waiver…

By 2012, all of the states in this study had started implementing new or revised teacher and leader evaluation systems. There are many and varying updates to these systems, and some of them have been made to meet conditions for a state's federal "Race to the Top" (RTT) grant. Other updates have been made to meet conditions for a state's…

This article describes how school librarians in Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) in Georgia addressed a concern regarding the performance evaluation tool that stemmed from the passing of House Bill (HB) 244, which was passed in response to the state's Race to the Top (RT3) application requirements. The bill became law on July 1, 2014, and the…

This study reports on performance-based teacher evaluation systems in five states that have implemented such systems. It investigates two primary research questions: (1) What are the key characteristics of state-level performance-based teacher evaluation systems in the study states?; and (2) How do state teacher evaluation measures, the teaching…

Research across the decades has confirmed that effective school leadership is associated with better outcomes for students and schools. A high-quality school leader affects dozens of teachers and hundreds or thousands of students. It is a pivotal role. From 2011 to 2016, The Wallace Foundation, through its Principal Pipeline Initiative (PPI),…

Until recently, states focused on ensuring the presence of a "highly qualified teacher" in every classroom. Under the 2001 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB), this title described a teacher holding at least a bachelor's degree and the appropriate state license and…

This resource was prepared in response to a request for information about how the six Phase 3 ELC States (Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Vermont) are leveraging ELC funds and other State funds to support inclusion. This information will be helpful to other States as they consider how to continue to increase the quality…

The Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) program, authorized by Congress in 2011, is designed to improve the quality of early learning and development programs for children from birth through age 5. This discretionary grant program is administered jointly by the U.S. Departments of Education (ED) and Health and Human Services…

In the twenty-first century, the use of standardized tests as the primary means to evaluate schools and teachers in the United States has contributed to severe dilemmas, including misleading information on what students know, lower-level instruction, cheating, less collaboration, unfair treatment of teachers, and biased teaching. This article…

This Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) annual performance report for the year 2016 describes Georgia's accomplishments, lessons learned, challenges, and strategies Georgia will implement to address those challenges. Georgia's third year of implementation of its Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) grant continued…

Race to the Top States offer a wide range of supports for local educational agency (LEA) implementation of one of four school intervention models. Some States allocate resources on a regional basis, while others coordinate resources at the State level. Certain States also use data tools to measure district needs, capacity and progress on key…

A central commitment for professional development schools (PDSs) is to link preservice teacher preparation and in-service teacher professional development with improved learning outcomes for pupils. PDSs are expected to improve student achievement in two primary ways: (1) by enriching and intensifying the learning environment through professional…

This State-specific summary report serves as an assessment of Georgia's annual Race to the Top implementation. The Year 4 report for Phase 2 grantees highlights successes and accomplishments, identifies challenges, and provides lessons learned from implementation from approximately September 2013 through September 2014. To support implementation…

The Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) program, authorized by Congress in 2011, is designed to improve the quality of early learning and development programs for children from birth through age 5. This discretionary grant program is administered jointly by the U.S. Departments of Education (ED) and Health and Human Services…

This Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) annual performance report for the year 2015 describes Georgia's accomplishments, lessons learned, challenges, and strategies Georgia will implement to address those challenges. In 2015, the second year of implementation, Georgia continued to use the RTT-ELC opportunity as a mechanism to…