Research findings using data from the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS) database has shown that race, socioeconomic level, class size, and classroom heterogeneity are poor predictors of student academic growth. TVAAS findings indicate that teacher effectiveness is the main determinant of student academic progress. (SLD)

Research literature highlights the principal as central to teacher evaluation. However, principal reports do not provide adequate information to document teacher quality. Good teacher evaluation adds multiple data sources such as client surveys, peer reviews of materials, and pupil achievement data, which vary by teacher and setting. Principals…

In an effort to explain the Staff Accountability Plan for New Mexico's schools, two pamphlets were developed. Designed to address the issue of teacher accountability and certification, pamphlet 1 presents the three provisions of the New Mexico Staff Accountability Plan. The plan requires: (1) a written basic skills assessment as part of teacher…

Featuring the same practical guidelines for ridding schools of incompetent teachers as the 1984 edition, this new edition incorporates substantially revised material on three topics: criteria and information sources for evaluating teaching effectiveness, remediation procedures, and grounds for dismissal. The book presents an eight-step systematic,…

The need to consider teaching evaluation criteria within the social structural and normative background within which college teaching takes place is discussed, along with the need to consider the substantive content of the criteria. In research-oriented American universities many feel that one cannot be promoted for teaching because institutional…

It is argued that early childhood education programs should be evaluated in terms of criteria other than measurement and testing procedures. Programs should be judged on criteria such as responsiveness to clients--the children, parents, and communities they serve. Teachers trained in observational and evaluative techniques should conduct ongoing…

This report suggests some possibilities open to school boards for improving compensation methods and presents some new avenues of exploration and study for boards wishing to pursue such possibilities. Subjects covered in the report include (1) the concept of accountability, (2) differentiated staffing, (3) merit pay plans, (4) performance…

This review discusses arguments for and against merit pay and presents some merit pay programs and proposals. The literature cited outlines the controversy surrounding merit pay, identifying its proponents and opponets; links the merit proposals to the accountability concept; discusses the problems of teacher evaluation; and lists alternative…

Efforts underway in New York to establish statewide academic standards are described. The responsibility of different individuals and groups and the need for special programs are also discussed. (GC)

Attempts to define the essence of the PBTE approach, analyzes the absence of a research base connecting teacher behavior and student learning and the inadvisability of construing teacher education as a problem of developing effective teachers, as well as arguing that PBTE is a political and educational movement. (Author/RK)

Presents information about the kind of competency testing being done, how educators view the testing movement, and how it is affecting teacher preparation programs. (SRT)

In Australia, teachers' accountability has grown less centralized and less bureaucratized as teachers have become more knowledgeable and better trained. Opposing forces are currently battling over whether to increase monitoring. In as multidimensional an administrative field as Australian schooling, a complex, changing monitoring system must…

This report examines key elements of effective new teacher assessment and support, reviews southeastern states' progress in developing quality induction programs, and offers recommendations for action. More dollars are being invested in new teachers than ever before, and some states have markedly increased the quantity of new teacher support…

This study investigated use of the Renaissance Partnership Teacher Work Sample (RTWS) as an accountability measure for demonstrating teacher candidates' ability to meet targeted teaching standards. Teacher work samples were collected from nine universities participating in the Renaissance Partnership to Improve Teacher Quality. Trained raters…

Considered teaching effectiveness, teaching competencies, teacher certification, and the development of policy regarding the challenges posed by the competency-based approach to teacher education. (Author/RK)