On January 12, 2006, the Houston Independent School District (HISD) Board of Education approved a teacher performance-pay program awarding teachers financial incentives based on three indicators of performance pay. These indicators involved group performance for teachers based on campus second grade comparative growth in mathematics and reading…

On January 12, 2006, the Houston Independent School District (HISD) Board of Education approved a teacher performance-pay program awarding teachers financial incentives based on three indicators of performance pay, using value-added methodology. For 2015-2016, HISD did not renew its contract with SAS EVAAS®. The amended model replaced EVAAS® with…

This paper outlines a set of ideas for improving teacher quality in America's schools. In it, the author proposes a combination of incremental steps and ambitious ones, designed to stimulate policymakers, practitioners, and the public to accelerate efforts to develop high-quality teachers. The paper has four main sections. First, the author…

Teachers in the United States are compensated largely on the basis of fixed schedules that reward experience and credentials. However, there is a growing interest in whether performance-based incentives based on rigorous teacher evaluations can improve teacher retention and performance. The evidence available to date has been mixed at best. This…

Concerns around the provision and retention of quality teachers are global. Amongst these concerns are the preparedness of graduate teachers and the quality and nature of teacher education. The purpose of the article is to focus questions of teacher preparedness and education within a wider discussion around the professional life-cycle of…

As a nation, we need to undertake strategic efforts to retain and increase the number of effective teachers of color in our educator workforce. Teachers of color are significantly underrepresented in the public school population, despite the fact that the number of students of color is growing rapidly. Greater teacher diversity will help ensure…

Evidence linking teacher quality and the "performance" of education systems has led to a widespread emphasis on improving the quality of entrants to teaching. In the USA and UK particularly, policymakers have encouraged entrants who have been highly successful in other careers to switch to teaching, on the assumption that they bring…

Pressure from state and federal mandates is being brought to faculty members at institutions who prepare teacher candidates to increase the standards and rigor of their programs, and who provide evidence that their graduates not only know the content, but also will be effective in the classroom. This article investigated the relationships among…

This study uses detailed administrative data on teachers and students from the state of North Carolina to revisit the empirical evidence on master's degrees, with attention to teachers at the middle and high school levels. It provides descriptive information on which types of teachers obtain master's degrees, for which subjects, at which…

Each edition of the IDRA Newsletter strives to provide many different perspectives on the issues in education topics discussed and to define its significance in the state and national dialogue. This issue focuses on School Integration and includes: (1) Using Socioeconomic Indicators as a Tool for School Diversity and Integration (David Hinojosa…

Researchers at NIET and elsewhere have studied the effectiveness of "TAP: The System for Teacher and Student Advancement" (TAP) in raising student achievement, improving the quality of instruction, and increasing the ability of high-need schools to recruit, retain and support effective teachers. This document provides summaries of some…

Research on teacher stability typically focuses on the extent to which teachers remain in the same school, district, or the teaching profession from one year to the next. I investigate another facet of stability--whether teachers remain in the grade they teach. Drawing on administrative data from a large district in California, I find that high…

This paper evaluates the behavioural responses of multitask agents to the provision of incentives skewed towards one task only. In particular it studies the case of strong research incentives for university professors and it analyzes their effects on the way university faculty members allocate effort between teaching and quantity and quality of…

This executive summary highlights results from the full report (published separately) which includes two studies that describe the local context for teacher employment decisions. The first examines the local labor market, and the second examines employment for teachers who left Austin Independent School District (AISD). A separate technical report…

The retention and resilience of teachers are subject to many influences. Children's behaviour is often cited as a major source of stress for teachers and a challenge to their resilience. We suggest that an understanding of teachers' attributions and efficacy beliefs may provide the foundations for work to support teachers. We outline…