Districts across the country are facing severe shortages of teachers--especially in certain subjects (math, science, special education, career and technical education, and bilingual education) and in specific schools (urban, rural, high-poverty, high-minority, and low-achieving). The severity of the teacher shortage problem varies significantly by…

The Department of Education's Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) 4 program represents a programmatic shift away from educator compensation reform as the primary lever of change for teacher performance and student learning. The TIF 4 program is designed to encourage the use of educator effectiveness measures to support the strategic instructional vision…

This report examines the placement of Teach for America (TFA) teachers and examines their impact on the learning gains of their students during 2012-13. TFA is an organization that recruits and trains recent college graduates/professionals to teach for two years in selected communities. Sets of eligible TFA teachers were identified in 2012-13…

This report examines the placement of Teacher for America (TFA) teachers and examines their impact on the learning gains of their students during 2011-12. TFA is an organization that recruits and trains recent college graduates/professionals to teach for two years in selected communities. Sets of eligible TFA teachers were identified in 2011-12,…

This report examines the ongoing effort to revamp teacher evaluations. After collecting and synthesizing data from 17 states and the District of Columbia, it provides five major lessons for policymakers. New evaluation systems are just one part of sweeping changes in American schools. Because the number and extent of these changes are daunting,…

Nobody goes into teaching to get rich, but that's no excuse not to pay teachers as professionals. Compensation is one of the most important factors in determining who enters the teaching profession and how long they stay--yet 90 percent of all U.S. school districts pay teachers without any regard for their actual performance with students,…

Creating a pipeline of great teachers for all schools and students in each state is a crucial policy goal. Strengthening teacher pipelines requires states to examine multiple policy areas, including certification requirements, educator evaluation, compensation and career ladders, educator environment (e.g., working conditions), and the range of…

Many teachers are already keen observers and skilled in supporting and collaborating with their colleagues. Leveraging this rich talent among staff can be an efficient way to address capacity challenges and enrich teachers' evaluations with more targeted feedback. Teachers, however, require training to become systematic, reliable observers who can…

Teachers are systematically sorted across schools. Often, schools serving the lowest-achieving students are staffed by the least-skilled teachers. While teachers' school preferences account for some of the sorting, school practices are also likely to be a key factor. Using value-added methods, the authors examine the relationship between a…

Pay-for-performance plans have become popular as school districts search for ways to improve teacher quality and student academic achievement. There is a need to develop systems that are sensitive to the market and are performance based whereby higher performing teachers receive greater financial compensation and recognition. The sense of…

One of the competitive priorities of the U.S. Department of Education's Race to the Top applications addressed science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). States that applied were required to submit plans that addressed rigorous courses of study, cooperative partnerships to prepare and assist teachers in STEM content, and prepare…

The Transition to Teaching (TTT) program is described in Part C, Innovations for Teacher Quality, Subpart 1, Chapter B of the "No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act." Its purposes are "(a) to recruit and retain highly qualified mid-career professionals (including highly qualified paraprofessionals) and recent graduates of an institution…

The Florida edition of the National Council on Teacher Quality's (NCTQ's) 2009 "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" is the third annual look at state policies impacting the teaching profession. It is hoped that this report will help focus attention on areas where state policymakers can make changes that will have a positive impact on teacher…

This report documents the extraordinary crisis facing Florida's public schools and provides evidence that Amendment 9--a proposed constitutional amendment to reduce class sizes--is a cost-effective and invaluable first step to rebuilding its troubled public schools. The report also sets the record straight about the long-term benefits of investing…

The "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" examines what is arguably the single most powerful authority over the teaching profession: state government. This Florida edition of the National Council on Teacher Quality's (NCTQ's) "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" is the first of what will be an annual look at the status of state policies…