Decisions about hiring are never easy, especially in education. Sharpwood Elementary School has an open teaching position and the principal is charged with hiring the best candidate. The principal knows that a diverse teaching staff benefits all stakeholders in a school, especially students, and he wants to honor that expectation. The staff really…

The REL Northeast & Islands studied rates of out-of-field teaching among beginning teachers who completed a teacher preparation program in Rhode Island. This brief is intended to support state stakeholders and teacher preparation program providers who are interested in understanding staffing patterns of new teachers trained in public, private,…

The purpose of this self-study guide is to increase the knowledge, skills, and ability of teachers to implement evidence-based instructional practices by improving the effectiveness of literacy coaching. This self-study guide is intended to help administrators, teacher leaders, and coaches determine which components of literacy coaching to…

This book combines theory and research from educational and organizational psychology to provide guidance on improving the teacher selection process and, subsequently, educational outcomes for all students. The book identifies the characteristics of effective teachers, analyzes research on selection practices, and examines new approaches to…

A blueprint for structuring the school environment around teacher learning and collaboration as a foundation for equitable learning and student engagement. In "Learning Together," Elham Kazemi, Jessica Calabrese, Teresa Lind, Becca Lewis, Alison Fox Resnick, and Lynsey K. Gibbons share findings from their decade of experience in…

Danielle Greene and Ann Jaquith wrote "Learning to Talk about Race and Implicit Bias in Historically White Districts: Some Guidance for Educators" for SCOPE's district partner after the first year of the Stanford Sequoia K-12 Research Collaborative project. The paper describes various challenges that they observed as educators tried to…

Daryl G. Smith has devoted her career to studying and fostering diversity in higher education. In "Diversity's Promise for Higher Education," Smith brings together research from a wide variety of fields to propose a set of clear and realistic practices that will help colleges and universities locate diversity as a strategic imperative…

Unfortunately, far too many Arkansas students are being taught by teachers who are uncertified in the subject they are teaching. This report analyzes the extent and potential causes of Arkansas' teacher shortage and propose a series of recommendations for state policymakers. Two primary findings about the shortage were identified: (1) Shortages…

Employers need a systematic approach for sorting and selecting the best new hires, and hiring may be enhanced by the use of teachers in the process. This article discusses information-rich job advertisements, behavior-based interview questions, and how to objectively evaluate candidates in preliminary and on-site interviews. Candidates' past…

The purpose of this statement is to help beginning faculty members, particularly at the assistant professor rank and in non-tenure-track positions, to succeed in their new institutions. These recommendations are intended for early-career faculty members themselves as well as administrators and other faculty in the hiring departments, to ensure…

An interview is a multifaceted and complex process that begins long before and can end many days after the actual face-to-face interview. The process can be quite intimidating for recent graduates or young teachers with little job search experience. This article offers suggestions that can demystify the interview process and provide an opportunity…

How do you stay focused on increasing student learning when budget cuts threaten everything you are striving for? This book offers a comprehensive framework to enhance student achievement in good times and in bad. School reform expert Allan R. Odden outlines a school improvement action plan focused sharply on student learning and then shows how to…

The purpose of this study was to develop and field test an employment screening instrument for special education teachers. The instrument developed demonstrated good reliability and concurrent validity. Both principals and special education administrators could effectively use the instrument. The instrument shows promise for helping administrators…

This article presents the results of an investigation carried out across 20+ country-regions under the auspices of ICMI Study 15 into the structures, approaches and general characteristics of the mathematics preparation and development of teachers. We use a global framework provided by the larger research literature on teacher education to…

First introduced in 1965, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) has evolved over time, emphasizing education reform priorities that mirror the changing national education policy conversation. The most recent iteration of ESEA, as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), was enacted in 2001. It emphasized improving outcomes for…