Many teachers are already keen observers and skilled in supporting and collaborating with their colleagues. Leveraging this rich talent among staff can be an efficient way to address capacity challenges and enrich teachers' evaluations with more targeted feedback. Teachers, however, require training to become systematic, reliable observers who can…

The purpose of this study was to identify factors important in teacher termination decisions and to create and to test that model using survey responses for Missouri public administrators. The independent variables chosen were broken into five (5) scales: time commitment; teacher experience; structural support and policies; building climate; and,…

This article investigates the issues surrounding teachers' use of social networking media and their First Amendment rights. It focuses on the need to develop a school district policy outlining specific guidelines for the use of technology and social networking. It also focuses on the changing world of technology and social networking as well as…

In an attempt to increase the effectiveness of instruction in California's public schools, educators, policymakers, and researchers are looking for ways to boost the quality of teacher evaluations. This report explains the complex relationship between state policy on teacher evaluation and local practice. It also describes prevailing criticisms of…

It has been widely publicized that approximately 98% of the teachers in the United States are rated as satisfactory (Weisberg, Sexton, Mulhern, & Keeling, 2009). This has led many Americans to think that there are very few ineffective teachers in the United States. But is this true? This study indicated that a majority of the principals in the…

Researchers estimate that 5-15% of American teachers do not produce the desired student performance. Nevertheless, 99% of U.S. teachers receive satisfactory evaluations annually. Guided by literature on obstacles to effective evaluation, this qualitative case study sought to understand the reasons why principals hesitate to confront substandard…

Tough economic times mean tight school district budgets, possibly for years to come. Education is a labor-intensive industry, and because most districts devote well over half of all spending to teacher compensation, budget cuts have already led to the most substantial teacher layoffs in recent memory. Although the 2010 federal Education Jobs and…

In "The Irreplaceables," TNTP researchers argued that America's urban schools take a negligent approach to teacher retention, losing too many of their very best teachers--their "Irreplaceables"--and keeping too many of their weakest teachers, year after year. A combination of weak school leadership, poor working conditions and…

Calls to fire the lowest-performing teachers are widespread, but such actions are not likely to improve teacher quality. Instead, educators should focus on improving the education system that can prevent even good teachers from providing high-quality teaching. To improve the teaching environment, educators and policy makers need to better…

The Pittsburgh Public Schools study is the 12th district study since the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) began studying districts in-depth in 2009. The intent of these studies is to give select communities a comprehensive look at what is happening in their local school districts that may be either helping or hurting teacher quality, and…

This quantitative study investigated reasons that school principals recommend non-renewal of probationary teachers' contracts. Principal survey results from three regions of the US (Midwest, Rocky Mountains, & Southeast) were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U statistical procedures, while significance was tested applying a…

This paper takes advantage of a unique policy change to examine how principals make decisions regarding teacher dismissal. In 2004, the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) signed a new collective bargaining agreement that gave principals the flexibility to dismiss probationary teachers for any reason and without the…

The author has twice spent a full day in court, as an expert witness; rather an odd task for an English professor, one might think. Each time involved a matter of considerable importance: an obscenity prosecution of a classic novel during the 1960s, and then, about twenty years later, a financial crisis at a community college involving dozens of…

During the 2010, 2011, and 2012 legislative sessions, a combination of federal policy incentives and newly elected governors and legislative majorities in many states following the 2010 elections sparked a wave of legislation addressing teacher effectiveness. More than 20 states passed legislation designed to address educator effectiveness by…

This study explored Wyoming school leaders' perceptions about the traits of incompetent teachers, strategies used to work with incompetent teachers, and the barriers to their dismissal. Most importantly, this study differentiated how principals and superintendents viewed incompetency issues. Some major findings include school leaders' beliefs that…