Teacher evaluation policy is a poignant and high-stakes issue. Driven by research, stakeholders are forging ahead with the premise that quality teachers are a critical, if not the most important, resource. As a result, many states are reforming procedures in response to educational reforms. The change to evaluate teachers in a systematic way has…

About five years ago, states across the country took on the huge, complex task of developing and implementing new systems to evaluate teacher and principal performance in public schools. In response to a federal mandate aimed at improving student achievement, especially in the lowest performing schools, state boards of education drafted high-level…

Approximately 30 states are now adopting teacher evaluation policies that include student learning objectives (SLOs), which are classroom-specific student test growth targets set by teachers and approved (and scored) by principals. Today state and district leaders are trying to determine the appropriate level of guidance and oversight to provide…

This quantitative study investigated the relationship between teacher dispositions, subject content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and reasons that school principals recommend non-renewal of teachers' contracts. Nearly 2,000 school principals in 13 states completed an emailed survey. In deciding whether to non-renew a teacher contract,…

THE OBJECTIVE WAS TO INVESTIGATE THE VARIABLES LEADING TO THE SUCCESS OR FAILURE OF TEACHER TEAMS. THIS PAPER REPORTS A SURVEY OF 533 TEAM MEMBERS AND 242 PRINCIPALS FROM SCHOOLS IN WHICH TEAM TEACHING WAS EMPLOYED AND AN ASSESSMENT OF 63 TEACHERS FROM 15 TEAMS. A SURVEY OF 242 PRINCIPALS INDICATED THAT (1) A SUBSTANTIAL PERCENTAGE OF CURRENT TEAM…

Describes Salt Lake City (Utah) schools' five instructional improvement goals, including clearly developed learning objectives, effective teaching and evaluation models, appropriate assessment tools, an energized classroom environment, and career leaders to attract and retain superior teachers. Discusses career ladder systems, focusing on teacher…

In five junior high schools and five senior high schools in Utah, the "voting method" was used to identify four groups of teachers, including (a) a group nominated by each principal as the most effective teachers in his school, (b) a group nominated by current students as their favorite teachers, (c) a group nominated by graduates as the…