Student achievement is a serious problem in American schools today. Academics are compromised when districts have difficulty attracting, retaining and rewarding highly qualified teachers. School districts must utilize innovative methods in motivating educators to stay in the profession. Teacher motivation is the key to academic success. (Contains…

One of the most important things school systems can do to promote student achievement is to ensure that all students have effective teachers. Effective teachers may be particularly important for the most disadvantaged students. The U.S. Department of Education commissioned the American Institutes for Research (AIR) to create this report as a…

New and veteran educators often face particular challenges in the classroom. Problems include classroom management, student academic achievement, and job satisfaction. This research examines the effects of implementing a Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) approach for students as part of the regular education for elementary public schools. SEL is…

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…

In the United States and Germany, effective school leadership is pivotal to a school's success. Yet in each country, attracting and retaining qualified school leaders is a formidable challenge. This study compares the influence of possible motivators and inhibitors that impact teachers' decisions to become principals in the two countries. Survey…

This paper seeks to provide a rationale for further researching the everyday events that keep teachers motivated or that discourage them. We put forward the idea that routine Affect Triggering Incidents (ATIs) are an important area for researchers to investigate in terms of how they impact teacher motivation and resilience. Two groups of…

The 2014 edition of the "Annual Condition of Education Report" marks the 25th anniversary of the report. Much has changed in the passing quarter century since the 1st edition was released in 1990. Most importantly, the "Condition of Education Report" allows the citizens of Iowa to explore trend data and determine what has…

Title I, Part A and Title II, Part A funds are provided to Houston Independent School District (HISD) through the 2002 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), also known as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). Both funds focus on enhancing student achievement, Title I, Part A through providing…

District Awards for Teacher Excellence (D.A.T.E.) is a state-funded program in Texas that provides grants to districts for the implementation of locally-designed incentive pay plans. All districts in the state are eligible to receive grants, but participation is voluntary. D.A.T.E. incentive pay plans were first implemented in Texas districts…

In the spring of 2009, the Partnership for Learning (PFL) asked The New Teacher Project (TNTP) to analyze challenges Washington faces in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) instruction and to make recommendations to overcome these challenges as part of a new STEM initiative. This initiative aims to dramatically raise student…

Background/Context: Policy makers are concerned about teacher shortages and the high rate of attrition among new teachers. Mentor-based induction has been shown to reduce the numbers of new teachers leaving schools or the profession. However, staying in the profession does not mean that new teachers are effective in helping students learn.…

Induction support for new teachers is widespread, particularly in the form of mentoring, but research evidence of effectiveness is limited. The majority of existing research has focused on the impact of induction on teacher retention. Of greater interest is the potential impact on student achievement, and on which forms of support are the most…

The purpose of this literature review is to gain greater understanding of strategies that can be effectively applied in Minnesota's rural school districts to address their education challenges. In particular, the authors sought to identify strategies that could either: (1) maintain (or improve) students' academic achievement at less cost to the…

Teacher quality research and the study of teacher effects received renewed attention and emphasis with Sanders and Rivers' (1996) startling finding that teacher effects are both additive and cumulative, persisting up to an estimated two years after the student has left the teacher's classroom. Sanders and Rivers estimated that a student receiving…

The United States' education system needs to take its critical next step: fairly and accurately measuring teacher performance. Successful reforms to teacher pay, career advancement, professional development, retention, and other human capital systems that lead to better student outcomes depend on it. Where can the U.S. find the best-practice…