Research shows that effective teachers are one of the most important in-school contributors to student learning. To improve low-income minority students' access to effective teaching, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation launched the Intensive Partnerships for Effective Teaching (IP) initiative in the 2009-2010 school year. The program was…

In 2018, The RAND Corporation and the American Institutes for Research (AIR) published an evaluation of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's Intensive Partnerships for Effective Teaching (IP) initiative, which was designed to improve achievement among low-income minority (LIM) students. The initiative provided support for several reforms that…

This report summarizes main results from a national study of how leaders in urban school district central offices fundamentally transformed their work and relationships with schools to support districtwide teaching and learning improvement. All three study districts had been posting gains in student achievement and credited their progress, in…

Local school administrators, board members, and unions are in the best position to devise the compensation, evaluation, and professional development models that work for their communities. Many changes in personnel policy will be the subject of negotiations between school boards and local unions. But the state also has a vital role to play in…

The 2009 "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" provided a comprehensive review of states' policies that impact the teaching profession. As a companion to last year's comprehensive state-by-state analysis, the 2010 edition provides each state with an individualized "Blueprint for Change," building off last year's "Yearbook"…

This case study of one middle school focuses on improving teachers' skills in data-driven decision making through analysis of student work and their own professional practice. The expectation that schools will make adequate yearly progress has pushed evaluation practice down to the teacher level, where teachers are asked to analyze and…

This rating sheet, for both course and instructor, works on a 5-point scale: (1) strongly agree; (2) agree; (3) no opinion; (4) disagree; (5) strongly disagree. The intent of the evaluation is improvement of instruction, not criticism of the instructor. The course is judged by the relevancy of the textbook, the extent to which it fulfills its…

Promises to staff usually evolve around issues of working conditions and individual autonomy, but a staff's collective commitments to students can serve as a powerful catalyst for improved professional practice. In this article, the authors present two schools--Penasquitos Elementary School in San Diego, California, and Levey Middle School in…

Education reformers are urging that all students meet new and more challenging expectations for learning. A crucial question is whether the education system, including the people who comprise it, have the ability to meet these new demands. This report argues that discussions of capacity should be broadened to include such factors as the…

This report explores issues surrounding the present governance structure of teacher credentialing in California and considers alternative structures to improve governance in the teaching profession. The study discusses the present credentialing structure, credentialing problems, and criticisms of the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, a body…

Describes how the California Professional Development Reform Initiative (CPDRI) developed a framework for professional learning. The final CPDRI document, Designs for Learning, is organized around 10 design elements which comprise a system for ongoing professional learning for teachers. Sidebars present: the California Standards for the Teaching…

Elementary, middle, and high school teachers from several school districts in California and Georgia share their experiences with designing and using study groups. Teachers report that the study groups identified educational and school needs, promoted teacher empowerment, increased collegiality, and kept teachers up on current issues and research…

This article describes the successful leadership and management techniques of Roy Romer, Los Angeles Unified School District superintendent, former Colorado governor and general chairman of the Democratic National Committee. The tale illustrates the central irony of Romer's leadership, which is that he is not an educator by trade, and yet, by many…

This publication presents information from an April 1999 meeting of the National Partnership for Excellence and Accountability in Teaching and Learning and the Learning First Alliance, which brought together representatives of schools and districts where outstanding faculty development was underway. This guide presents the story that these…

Describes a California project which encourages educators to follow best practices for staff development and school improvement. The project helps them evaluate their staff-development plans by examining five essential questions about staff development and its connections to student success, professional climate, standards, and assessment. The…