Policy Instruments in Teacher Evaluation: How Michigan School Districts Implemented Teacher Evaluation Policies

• In Event: 75.043 - MTCC Poster Session 17
  In Poster Session: Policy Implementation and Scale

Abstract

Teacher evaluation policies have emerged as a useful tool for improving teaching quality. However, the effects of policies are mixed, which may be because the implementation of teacher evaluation is very complicated. There have been many research studies that have examined the factors that affect implementation of teacher evaluation. However, focusing on individual factors without linking them to a systemic framework hampers further research in this area. In order to fill this gap, we applied the policy instrument framework to understand teacher evaluation policies. Based on interviews with 11 school district administrators in Michigan, we found that mandates were the primary policy instrument used. However, the conditions that mandates are successful in were not aligned with the given context.

Authors

• Jihyun Kim, Lehigh University

• Peter A. Youngs, University of Virginia