Promoting a quality teaching force

By Helen F. Ladd. Now that Congress has finally passed the Every Student Succeeds Act, states are no longer required to evaluate teachers based on their students’ test scores. This is a welcome change. Even when such evaluations have been embedded in comprehensive incentive systems for teachers, they have at best led to minor improvements in student outcomes and, at worst, to many types of distorting behavior. The states can and should now turn their attention to the fundamentals of assuring a high quality teaching force. More...