How States and Districts Can Improve Their Teacher Evaluation Systems under ESSA
December 5, 2016
Bellwether Education Partners released an analysis for states and districts as they consider changes to teacher evaluation systems under ESSA. The report also examined the “polarizing politics and ideology of teacher evaluation to demonstrate the risks policymakers face” and suggests how to “mitigate those risks.” The report recommends five strategies for states and schools:
- Don’t rush action
- Preserve a role for student achievement in teacher evaluation systems
- Consider the relationship between teacher evaluation and accountability systems
- Invest in management and capacity to develop teachers and leaders
- Identify strategies to capture and learn from state-by-state variation