The past decade has been marked by rapid changes in teacher evaluations. While many districts and states announced their intention to install better systems, they faced political and structural challenges. In this study, [National Council on Teacher Quality] NCTQ examines evidence of the impact of teacher evaluation in six places (four districts…

The Scottish chartered teacher programme (2003-2011) is an important example of a national policy designed to support the development of "accomplished teaching". This paper provides an account of the emergence of the programme before discussing how the impact of such a scheme might be assessed and thus rendered accountable. The…

Italy is well known for its difficulty in introducing any educational evaluation system. This paper explores the dynamics which occurred in Italy in 2010-2011, within the context of the umpteenth national pilot of school and staff evaluation. Our research object is an unfinished project, observed in its development. We get close to the struggles…

In "Value-Added and Other Methods for Measuring School Performance: An Analysis of Performance Measurement Strategies in Teacher Incentive Fund Proposals"--a paper presented at the February 2008 National Center on Performance Incentives research to policy conference--Robert Meyer and Michael Christian examine select performance-pay plans…

In "Characteristics and Determinants of Teacher-Designed Pay for Performance Plans: Evidence from Texas' Governor's Educator Excellence Grant (GEEG) Program"--a paper presented at the February 2008 National Center on Performance Incentives research to policy conference--Lori Taylor, Matthew Springer, and Mark Ehlert describe the teacher…

The process of teacher identification, selection, initial training, and on-going professional development that has developed at the Illinois Virtual High School (IVHS) over the past seven years is described and discussed in this article. Validation was based upon existing practices and research. To provide background the creation and initial…

This study explores the impact of an alternative teacher preparation program development from the "inside out" or through the voices of second career teachers, known as "Career Switchers," at a mid-size state university. The major objective of this study was to probe into their perceptions to inform program development with reporting framed in…

A recent experiment in French second language teacher training in Indonesia, where French culture has little or no historical place, uses teacher evaluation to improve teacher training. The project has also succeeded in bringing together professionals and organizations that generally have had little contact. (MSE)

Teachers and administrators from three rural impoverished school districts in South Carolina, together with consultants and the principal investigator from Clemson University, identified seven requisite qualities of teachers: knowledge, instructional management, classroom management, communications skills, planning ability, professional qualities,…

Since the announcement in 1999 of a plan to tie teachers' salary increases to student achievement by Denver Public Schools, there has been a flood of nationwide policy activity around teacher compensation. This paper examines pay plans in Denver, Toledo, Minneapolis, and New York City, offering a snapshot of the changing landscape of teacher…

A summary of a conference session addresses issues involved in determining and evaluating competencies in teachers of visually handicapped children. Four papers are presented on the implications of a project initiated in 1978 at the University of Michigan that established 70 teacher competency statements in 10 goal areas. The first paper,…

This paper shares the outcomes of a developmental process designed to create a comprehensive teacher assessment program within a local school district. The paper includes a rationale that helps to explain the need for developing teacher evaluation systems different from most current models, the processes used to create the assessment program, and…

A convening process was used to study the feasibility of a career ladder program for public school teachers in the District of Columbia. Eight educators from outside the system met on July 13-15, 1987, to analyze problems in the current system concerning: (1) the need to compete for quality teachers; (2) making career opportunities available; (3)…

A British institution's efforts to improve assessment in the student teaching portion of its teacher education program to reflect a new approach to teacher training are described, focusing on the implications for supervisors and for the student teacher-supervisor relationship. (MSE)

The Northern Arizona University Career Ladder Research and Evaluation Project for teachers implements a procedure for rewarding teachers based on performance levels rather than on years of teaching experience and college credits. Research data is collected each spring, analyzed and fed back to the districts for improvement of key program…