Teacher

This report examines 22 teacher education programs that have significantly shifted focus to place high-quality clinical teacher preparation at the center of their programs. It details how those shifts occurred and conditions that facilitated movement from traditional teacher training models to more clinical approaches.

The first in a series of four papers from iNACOL—the International Association for K–12 Online Learning—on online learning, this report looks at how blended learning is being used in education today to improve educational outcomes and personalize the learning experience for students.

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 two-page brief from ASCD offers several charts about teacher leadership in the United States, including a map of states that have teacher-leader certification endorsements in place or planned.