Leader

This report examines how five school districts in Texas, Tennessee, Oregon, Georgia, and Louisiana implemented new educator evaluation and support systems and lessons learned along the way. The report finds that a process of regular observation and feedback is an important component of an effective evaluation system and identifies five essential practices for ensuring that teachers receive effective feedback and support from evaluation systems. 

This brief from The Education Trust presents ideas for states to consider when developing a state plan to ensure that all students, particularly disadvantaged students, have access to effective teachers. Recommendations include using data to identify patterns of teacher access, working with stakeholders to determine the main causes of disparities, and creating policies to spur change that give priority to schools with the most urgent problems.

A series of case studies from the Christensen Institute illustrate the impact of blended learning on student outcomes in six states. Although implementation of blended learning programs varies across the states, a set of characteristics is consistent throughout, including strong leadership, engaging instruction and digital content, and platforms that offer greater student control over learning. 

This federal report presents data on teacher attrition and mobility from a longitudinal study following teachers who began teaching in 2007–08. Analysis of the data reveals that in contrast to the 40–50 percent attrition rate found in earlier studies, only 17 percent of new teachers left their jobs in the first five years.

This white paper examines why teacher shortages exist in the United States at certain grade levels, subject areas, and geographic areas, and highlights some of the barriers to improving teacher supply. The authors suggest that online learning may provide some solutions to these issues by offering alternative models of learning with increased flexibilities.

This study examines what Boston charter schools are doing to achieve consistently strong student outcomes. Comparing Boston charter schools and more than 200 charter schools across the country, the study finds that Boston charter schools employ specific school leadership practices that result in stronger environments that promote excellent teaching. Key findings include the importance of early hiring while setting a high bar, leadership practices that foster a strong school culture, and ongoing professional development for teachers.

This report looks at 10 school districts and the key policy decisions they have made to redesign their teacher compensation systems. With the goal of attracting, retaining, and rewarding high-quality teachers while staying within budget and achieving district targets, these districts have changed compensation systems to pay effective educators more. 

This study, commissioned by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, surveyed more than 4,600 teachers seeking to understand how teachers use data to tailor instruction and the challenges they encounter with the tools intended to support data-driven instruction in the classroom. Although 91 percent of teachers agreed that data tools play an important role in today’s classrooms, they generally reported feeling overwhelmed by the amount of data available, and sought more nuanced data results and greater guidance.

This report details lessons learned from implementation of the Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowship (WWTF) program in five states. Aimed at providing a strong pipeline of effective teachers, WWTF currently partners with 28 universities in Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey, and Ohio to provide prospective teachers academic training, clinical experience, and mentoring that will effectively equip them to succeed in high-need schools.

This brief from ERS is based on its work with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District and examines the relationship between strategic school design and effective student-based budgeting. The brief highlights the importance of aligning funding with a clear plan for reorganizing resources in order to improve student outcomes, and recommends that three overriding principles should be at the heart of all design plans: excellent teachers for all students, personalized learning and support, and cost effectiveness through creative solutions.