Research Evidence Use in Teacher Evaluation Model Development for Race to the Top Applications

• In Event: Knowledge Creation, Evidence-Based Funding Models, and Whose Opinions Count in Educational Policy Making

Abstract

Since the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act was passed in 2001, teachers and school leaders have been encouraged to use student data to drive their instructional decisions (Honig, Coburn, 2008). If teachers and principals are expected to use data to guide their decision-making, do state education policymakers also use data to guide their decision-making regarding teacher and principal quality and evaluations? States receiving Race to the Top (RTTT) funds are currently making significant changes to their teacher and principal evaluation methods, including linking student growth data to teacher and leader performance, and there is a question whether those changes are grounded in research-based methods. This paper explores the extent to which research findings were cited in state RTTT applications.

Author

• Christina Luke, Measurement Incorporated