This study's purpose is to extend our understanding of school leadership for student learning by identifying high-leverage teacher evaluation practices that improve teaching. A partnership with a state education agency administered a teacher questionnaire regarding evaluation practices multiple times in one semester, then linked teacher responses…

In response to the federal Race to the Top grant initiative that aimed to increase teacher accountability, the state of Tennessee created the Tennessee Student Growth Portfolio Model (TSGPM) to evaluate its non-tested teachers. This optional alternate evaluation model for non-tested teachers was developed and piloted by fine arts educators in the…

Teacher performance scores inform education leaders' management of teacher human resources. However, prior research has implied that different interpretations of performance criteria between teachers and their evaluators suppress teacher development. Although research has examined teacher perceptions of performance scores and compared teacher…

High-quality training is a crucial investment in establishing and maintaining implementation fidelity as well as building educators' trust in the new process. Training approaches for educator evaluation vary both in format (i.e., how it's delivered) and content (i.e., what is provided). Train-the-trainer sessions, online professional learning…

Many layers of education governance press upon U.S. schools, so we separated state actors into those internal to and those external to the system. In the process, we unpacked the traditional state-local dichotomy. Using interview data (n = 45) from six case-study states, we analyzed local leaders', state-internal actors', and state-external…

Leadership matters. Principals are the primary drivers of school improvement and the best long-term investment to ensure effective teaching and learning at scale. Principals are central to State efforts to implement new college and career-ready standards, execute teacher evaluation and support systems and turn around low-performing schools. These…

In fall 2009, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation launched the Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) project to test new approaches to measuring effective teaching. The goal of the MET project is to improve the quality of information about teaching effectiveness available to education professionals within states and districts--information that…

This paper explores the functioning of the low-inference observation system used as part of the Tennessee Career Ladder evaluation system, which provides teachers with the opportunity to qualify for additional pay on the basis of outstanding performance. The analysis of the functioning of this form is intended to provide the basis for the ongoing…

To fulfill a mandate of the Tennessee State Legislature, the extent to which the Tennessee Career Ladder System (CLS) is valid for making inferences about the professional competence of teachers was investigated. Evidence of the extent to which the content of the evaluation procedures reflects sound theory, empirical findings, and best practices,…

This manual is designed to provide Tennessee teachers with the information needed to understand the revised Career Ladder Evaluation System and prepare them for the evaluation at Career Levels I and II. It includes the following information: (1) improvements in the revised version (1985-86); (2) fundamental beliefs and principles; (3) levels of…

This State model for teacher evaluation meets the requirements of Tennessee's Comprehensive Education Reform Act of 1984 (CERA). Special guidelines, approved by the State Board of Education for the beginning year of CERA (1984-85), are incorporated into the State model for local evaluation. Groups who must be evaluated during the 1984-85 school…

A mediated peer coaching program implemented in rural Middle Tennessee in 1984-85 was designed to improve classroom instruction within the constraints imposed by poor, rural schools. Participants were 35 teachers in 9 rural schools, each assigned to a peer coaching team consisting of teachers in the same school but with different grade and/or…