Getting Teacher Evaluation Right: A Challenge for Policy Makers

On September 14, 2011, the American Educational Research Association and the National Academy of Education held a research briefing on Capitol Hill—Getting Teacher Evaluation Right: A Challenge for Policy Makers— to a packed audience of well over 200 attendees. The briefing focused on important data and findings presented by four research experts—Edward Haertel (Stanford University and Chair of the National Research Council Board on Testing and Assessment), Jesse Rothstein (University of California-Berkeley and former Senior Economist, Council of Economic Advisors), Audrey Amrein-Beardsley (Arizona State University), and Linda Darling-Hammond (Stanford University).

Key issues addressed by the brief include how teacher effectiveness might best be measured, what teacher evaluation policies and practices are effective in identifying and developing high-quality teaching, and what policies are likely to support sound teacher evaluation. The brief also examines the challenges and complexities of using value-added measures of student learning in making judgments about teachers and how best to undertake teacher evaluation.

Find more information about the briefing at www.aera.net.