Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the characteristics of teacher incentive pay programs used by midsize to large school districts in Missouri. Design/methodology/approach: This study primarily used the Teacher Compensation Programs (TCP) survey data. The TCP survey was developed by the authors to understand the nature and…

The purpose of this paper is to bring to light elements that teachers require in order for learning gained during professional development sessions to find a place in their classroom practices and to affect student learning. Through their inquiry with K-12 educators at the Margaret Sue Copenhaver Institute for Teaching and Learning, a professional…

The Race to the Top program is authorized under sections 14005 and 14006 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). Race to the Top is a competitive grant program to encourage and reward States that are implementing significant reforms in the four education areas described in the ARRA: enhancing standards and assessments,…

This report presents the value-added models that will be used to measure school and teacher effectiveness in the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) in the 2010-2011 school year. It updates the earlier technical report, "Measuring Value Added for IMPACT and TEAM in DC Public Schools." The earlier report described the methods used…

Teachers grow in stages until they reach maturity. Some arrive earlier than others; some never get there. This discussion suggests ways to help teachers achieve maturity. (Editor)

In U.S. K-12 public education, incentive pay for educators remains firmly fixed as a high-interest policy topic and has recently become a popular reform initiative in many school systems. The Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF), created in 2006 by the U.S. Department of Education, is at the forefront of this policy movement and has provided hundreds of…

This practicum report describes the development and implementation of a teacher evaluation system at Eisenhower Elementary School in Pinellas County, Florida. The evaluation system developed was designed to address the goals of team teaching and individualized instruction. The system is intended to evaluate teacher performance in three areas,…

The School Improvement Model launched by the Iowa State University College of Education in 1964 uses a total-system approach to measure and report teacher performance. SIM focuses on student achievement and emphasizes validity, reliability, discrimination, and 360-degree feedback from principals, other teachers, parents, and students. A Wyoming…

Teachers deserve objective evaluations that will help them to improve. Delaware uses a four-point rubric ranging from "unsatisfactory" to "needs improvement,""effective," and "exemplary." Teachers' placement depends on frequency of demonstrated behaviors identified in each rubric. For lower ratings, the…

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…

The five instruments and the procedures in this manual were designed to assess teaching competencies selected for the Georgia department of education. The system, designed to assess teaching competence in an on-the-job setting included the following steps: (1) identifying desirable teaching competencies; (2) identifying behaviors that correspond…

A teacher professional development program in Virginia identified 15 performance indicators of effective teaching. Teachers are given 5 years and 30 observations (during which only teacher strengths are documented) in which to demonstrate and assess their proficiency. Peer evaluations and monetary incentives are successfully utilized. (MLF)

"Making good things better" was the theme of the 1985 AASA Small School District Administrators' Conference. The keynote speaker listed four efforts school leadership should take: encouraging people to change, accelerating the growth of people, setting organizational goals, and continuing personal growth. A full day of the conference focused on…

A program designed to improve learning through improved teaching competencies, the IOTAH program (Instrument for the Observation of Teaching Activities in Higher Education) is reported. This program for instructional improvement involves three stages: introduction, training, and implementation. The introductory stage can be accomplished through…

Oregon Senate Bill 354 has required each school district in Oregon to develop a teacher evaluation plan that would include job descriptions, performance standards, observations, postevaluation, and a written program of assistance, if needed. The Beginning Teacher Evaluation Study (BTES) has drawn some conclusions about teacher effectiveness that…