Does Teacher Evaluation Improve School Performance? Experimental Evidence From Chicago’s Excellence in Teaching Project

• In Event: Experiences in Teacher Evaluation Systems

Abstract

The Chicago Public Schools initiated the Excellence in Teaching Project, a teacher evaluation program designed to increase student learning by improving classroom instruction through structured principal-teacher dialogue. The pilot began in 44 elementary schools in 2008-09 and scaled up to include an additional 48 elementary schools in 2009-10. Leveraging the experimental design of the rollout, Cohort 1 schools performed better in reading and math than Cohort 2 schools at the end of the first year, though the math effects are not statistically significant. The initial improvement for Cohort 1 schools remains even after Cohort 2 schools adopted the program. Moreover, higher-achieving and lower-poverty schools were the primary beneficiaries, suggesting the intervention was most successful in more advantaged schools.

Authors

• Matthew Philip Steinberg, University of Pennsylvania

• Lauren Sartain, Consortium on Chicago School Research At The University of Chicago