Teachers are the most important school-related factor influencing student achievement, and how teachers are prepared and supported throughout their careers is vital to their success. Learning Forward (originally the National Staff Development Council) and SCOPE conducted a multi-year investigation tracking states' progress in teacher professional development and identifying policies and practices that offer promising lessons. The project is one of the most comprehensive studies yet conducted on this subject.
Phase I provides a baseline assessment of what works and what is happening in states and other nations to provide us with useful benchmarks against which we can measure state and district progress.
Phase II analyzes the status of professional learning in the United States by identifying the availability and quality of professional development in the United States based on 11 criteria.
Phase III examines the policies and professional development strategies of four professionally active states through case studies.
