The Progress of Education Reform: Evaluating Teacher Effectiveness PDF - This issue highlights recent research that attempts to explore the relationship between traditionally accepted measures of teacher quality – teacher certification and in-class performance – and teacher effectiveness as assessed through student academic performance. It also includes links to additional resources on teacher quality and teacher evaluation methods.(Tricia Coulter, Education Commission of the States, October 2007)...

National Board for Professional Teaching Standards - A 2008 National Research Council report found that students taught by board-certified teachers had higher achievement test gains than did those taught by non-board-certified teachers, although the differences were small and varied by state. This brief looks at the board’s funding and governance, the certification process, the extent of teacher participation nationally and within Tennessee, the value of certification, and national, regional, state, and local incentives for achieving certification. (OREA, September 2011)...

Do Low-Income Students Have Equal Access to the Highest-Performing Teachers? - This brief describes the prevalence of highest-performing teachers in 10 purposely selected districts across seven states. The overall patterns indicate that low-income students have unequal access, on average, to the district's highest-performing teachers at the middle school level but not at the elementary level. (National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, 2011)...

What Does Washington State Get for Its Investment in Bonuses for Board Certified Teachers? - This paper examines the available evidence in an effort to shed light on what the National Board Certified Teacher bonus program set out to do--reward strong teachers and encourage them to teach in high-poverty schools--and whether it is achieving the desired effects. (Jim Simpkins, Center on Reinventing Public Education, March 2011)...

Not Prepared for Class: High Poverty Schools Continue to Have Fewer In-Field Teachers - Nearly a decade after federal law was enacted to ensure that low-income students and students of color had a fair shot at being assigned to strong teachers, students in high-poverty schools are still disproportionately taught by out-of-field and rookie teachers. Abundant research has concluded that among schoolhouse variables, teacher quality has the single most significant impact on student academic gains. (Sarah Almy and Christina Theokas, The Education Trust, November 2010)...