A new report from the National Council on Teacher Quality analyzes six school systems that successfully strengthened their teacher evaluation systems in a way that improves teacher performance. The six systems — Dallas Independent School District, District of Columbia Public Schools, Denver Public Schools, Newark Public Schools, New Mexico, and Tennessee — differ somewhat in the details of their approach and the nature of their successes, but their teacher evaluation systems share certain features that the NCTQ considers strong practices:
- Multiple measures
- Student surveys (5 of 6 systems)
- Objective measures of student growth
- At least three rating categories
- Annual evaluations and observations for all teachers
- Professional development tied to evaluation
- Written feedback after each observation (5 of 6 systems)
Source: Putman, H., Ross, E., & Walsh, K. (2018). Making a difference: Six places where teacher evaluation systems are getting results. Washington, DC: National Council on Teacher Quality.