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Teacher Effectiveness

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Although many personal, family, and neighborhood factors contribute to a student's academic performance, a large body of research suggests that—among school-related factors—teachers matter most. RAND researchers examine and evaluate methods of measuring teacher effectiveness, as well as the critical relationship between teacher effectiveness and student achievement.

Research Brief

How Teacher Effectiveness Spills Over into Other Classrooms

May 28, 2019

Teachers' effectiveness ripples out beyond their own students and affects the experiences of their pupils' future peers. Ignoring these "spillover" effects underestimates a teacher's value by at least 30 percent.
Research Brief

Results from the Intensive Partnerships for Effective Teaching Initiative

Feb 11, 2019

A multiyear effort aimed at increasing students' access to effective teaching failed to achieve its goals for improved student achievement and graduation. However, the participating school districts and charter management organizations did implement better measures of teaching effectiveness.

Explore Teacher Effectiveness

Report

Teachers Matter: Understanding Teachers' Impact on Student Achievement

The author articulates how research suggests that teachers are important to student achievement and how statistical methods can provide valuable but imprecise estimates of teacher effectiveness.

Dec 4, 2019
Report

Student Growth Percentiles 101: Using Relative Ranks in Student Test Scores to Help Measure Teaching Effectiveness

The author defines student growth percentiles (SGPs) and discusses how they are used to rank student test-score growth compared with peers and to produce a score for a teacher.

Dec 4, 2019
Report

Report

Measuring Teacher Effectiveness: Understanding Common, Uncommon, and Combined Methods

The author describes the three most-common methods for measuring teacher effectiveness in the United States and discusses the importance of carefully considering the ways that measures are combined to create an overall index.

Dec 4, 2019
Report

Report

Beyond Achievement: How Teachers Affect Outcomes Other than Test Scores

Research shows that teachers matter for both test and nontest score outcomes. Teachers who excel at raising test scores do not necessarily excel at improving other outcomes.

Dec 4, 2019
Report

Report

Stakeholder Feedback Surveys as Indicators of Teaching Effectiveness

According to the author, stakeholder surveys address a broad range of topics related to school and classroom climate. Some types of surveys can be used for teacher-level feedback.

Dec 4, 2019
Report

Report

Teachers' Broad Impact: Understanding How Teachers Influence Students They Do Not Teach

The author discusses the potential ways that teachers can affect students whom they do not teach and how research suggests that a teacher's indirect reach could account for a large proportion of his or her overall contribution to student learning.

Dec 4, 2019
Report

Value-Added Modeling 101: Using Student Test Scores to Help Measure Teaching Effectiveness

The author discusses the use of value-added models (VAMs) to estimate teacher contribution to student progress, account for students' prior characteristics, and enable relative judgments, as well as the limitations of VAMs.

Dec 4, 2019
Periodical

Periodical

RAND Review: July-August 2019

This issue spotlights a strategy to reduce roadway deaths to zero; a school principal initiative that yielded positive results for schools and students; and a data-driven effort to enhance equity in a major U.S. city.

Jul 1, 2019
Report

Report

Raising the Bar for Teacher Preparation: Early Signals on How Louisiana's Education Policy Strategies Are Working Across the State

This report, part of a four-part series on the implementation and outcomes of Louisiana's education initiatives, focuses on the state's strategies for K-12 teacher preparation.

Jun 11, 2019
Blog

Theresa May, Emotional Learning, Teachers: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on Theresa May's resignation, social and emotional learning, the value of a good teacher, and more.

May 31, 2019
Blog

NATO's 70th Anniversary, Food Deserts, Teachers: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on effective teachers, NATO's 70th anniversary, food deserts, and more.

Apr 5, 2019
Journal Article

Teachers Can Make a Difference Beyond Their Own Classrooms

Schools may be undervaluing good teachers by at least 30 percent. How? Because they aren't considering the spillover effects that better-educated students have on their peers.

Apr 3, 2019
Research Brief

Research Brief

Considerations for Implementing the TNTP Core Rubric

RAND researchers assessed whether the TNTP Core Teaching Rubric produces scores that are representative of teachers' overall instructional practices and whether raters' content expertise influences scores on TNTP Core.

Nov 7, 2018
Report

Report

Validation Study of the TNTP Core Teaching Rubric

RAND researchers assess whether the TNTP Core Teaching Rubric produces scores that are representative of teachers' overall instructional practices and whether raters' content expertise influences scores on TNTP Core.

Nov 7, 2018
Research Brief

Research Brief

How Do Teachers Perceive Feedback and Evaluation Systems? Findings from the American Teacher Panel

Most teachers surveyed reported receiving useful feedback, although the majority perceived feedback from fellow teachers and from coaches or mentors more positively than feedback from formal observations or from school leaders.

Sep 28, 2018
Journal Article

Journal Article

Examens de l'OCDE du cadre d'évaluation de l'éducation : Maroc: OECD Reviews of Evaluation Framework Education: Morocco

This report features RAND Europe analysis of the strengths and challenges in Morocco's current approach for teacher appraisal, and provides actionable policy recommendations and advice for implementing improvements.

Jul 23, 2018
Report

How Do Teachers Respond to Feedback?

Education leaders across the United States have revised their policies in an effort to enhance the quality of teacher evaluation measures and instructional practices. A unique survey asked teachers about their perceptions of the feedback they receive and the evaluation systems at their schools.

Jul 9, 2018
Report

Impacts of the Intensive Partnerships Initiative

The Intensive Partnerships for Effective Teaching initiative enhanced how teachers are evaluated and improved teacher staffing policies. But it did not lead to gains in student achievement or graduation rates.

Jun 20, 2018

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RAND Topic:
Teacher Effectiveness

Research conducted by

RAND Education and Labor