From the ECS State Policy Database: Teaching Quality--Tenure or Continuing Contract - This policy database—updated weekly—is made possible by your state's fiscal support of the Education Commission of the States....

From the ECS State Policy Database: Teaching Quality--Teacher Contracts (Not Tenure) - This policy database—updated weekly—is made possible by your state's fiscal support of the Education Commission of the States....

From the ECS State Policy Database: Background Checks - This policy database—updated weekly—is made possible by your state's fiscal support of the Education Commission of the States....

From the ECS State Policy Database: Teaching Quality - This policy database—updated weekly—is made possible by your state's fiscal support of the Education Commission of the States....

From the ECS State Policy Database: Teaching Quality--Teacher Rights - This policy database—updated weekly—is made possible by your state's fiscal support of the Education Commission of the States....

From the ECS State Policy Database: Teaching Quality--Teacher Attitudes - This policy database—updated weekly—is made possible by your state's fiscal support of the Education Commission of the States....

From the ECS State Policy Database: Teaching Quality--Unions/Collective Bargaining--Strikes - This policy database—updated weekly—is made possible by your state's fiscal support of the Education Commission of the States....

Iowa's Statewide Professional Development Model PDF - Iowa's approach to professional development is distinctive because it is statewide and comprehensive; it addresses development of school leaders as well as teachers; it fosters engagement of all teachers, not just those who choose to participate; and it centers around student learning....

What Governors Need to Know: Highlights of State Education Systems PDF - This multistate compilation includes states' number of operating districts, average students per district, per-student spending, free or reduced-price lunch eligible students, percent of K-12 revenue from state sources, state and local school revenue, full-day kindergarten requirements, compulsory school ages and more. (Kyle Zinth and Melodye Bush, Education Commission of the States, updated December 2010)...

New Hampshire Task Force on Effective Teaching - The New Hampshire Task Force on Effective Teaching was established in 2010 to build a foundation for the development of a system to support effective teaching. There were 60 representatives from a wide range of stakeholder groups. This report contains details from this effort and represents Phase I of the New Hampshire Department of Education's initiative to create systems that lead to teaching effectiveness across the state. (New Hampshire Department of Education, October 2011)...

Unlikely Allies: Unions and Districts in the Battle for School Reform - This report profiles the unique collaboration between two district and union leaders to turn around low-performing schools in Providence, Rhode Island. (Education Sector, January 2011)...

2010 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Blueprint for Change - As a companion to last year's comprehensive state-by-state analysis, the 2010 edition provides each state with an individualized Blueprint for Change. Key policy areas such as teacher preparation, evaluation, tenure, dismissal and alternative certification are included in the blueprint. A reader has the option of selecting a state and downloading the individualized report and viewing the overall results for the nation. (National Council on Teacher Quality, 2010)...

Devil in the Details: An Analysis of State Teacher Dismissal Laws - The push for dismissal reform comes as districts across the country focus on improving human capital systems. Districts recognize that an inability to dismiss poor-performing teachers undermines efforts to ensure that every student is taught by a highly effective instructor. As districts begin implementing more effective evaluation systems that better identify both low- and high-performing teachers, changes will have to be made to dismissal processes to exit those teachers in a fair and efficient manner. (Saba Bireda, Center for American Progress, June 2010)...

The Status of the Teaching Profession 2009 - This new report examines the mismatch between changing needs of reforming high schools and systems of teacher development and support. While many teachers have the expertise they need to succeed in California’s reforming high schools, data from this new survey of high school principals commissioned by the Center and conducted by SRI International finds that nearly all schools have some teachers who lack knowledge or skills in areas now considered key for success in college and the workplace. (The Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning, December 2009)...

Education Counts - Education Week's Education Counts database contains state data on several teaching quality indicators relating to areas such as accountability, recruitment and retention, evaluation and compensation. (Editorial Projects in Education, 2009)...

Improving Teacher and School Leader Effectiveness: Designing a Framework for Colorado - The Race to the Top competition provides a compelling process within which to address the ways to produce more effective teachers. National experts on teacher effectiveness were interviewed and the authors placed that wisdom into the Colorado context. Recommendations are made for moving from an existing system based on inputs to much closer attention to system outputs and outcomes. (Colorado Legacy Foundation, August 2009)...

2009 State Teacher Policy Yearbook - The National Council on Teacher Quality's third annual review of state laws, rules and regulations is a comprehensive analysis of the full range of each state's teacher policies, measured against a realistic blueprint for reform. The online Yearbook provides a road map to the Race to the Top, addressing key policy areas such as teacher preparation, evaluation, alternative certification and compensation. After viewing the findings, it is clear that states have a great deal of work to do in order to ensure that every child has an effective teacher. The Yearbook has been customized so that each state has its own report, with its own analyses and data. Users can download any of our 51 state reports.(National Council on Teacher Quality, 2009)...