In this article, we explain how overly prescriptive, rigid state statutory and regulatory policy frameworks regarding teacher evaluation, tenure and employment decisions outstrip the statistical reliability and validity of proposed measures of teaching effectiveness. We begin with a discussion of the emergence of highly prescriptive state…

In the era of No Child Left Behind, principals are increasingly held accountable for student performance. But are teacher labor agreements giving them enough flexibility to manage effectively? This study answers this question and others. It examines how much flexibility school leaders enjoy on key dimensions of management in America's fifty…

Factors that influence the design of state teacher policies and the impact of these policies on issues of coordination, equity, and teacher supply are examined. The structure and operation of policies in effect in four states--California, Colorado, Georgia, and Oklahoma--are described, and the factors that influence the design of these state…