State Education Agencies and the Implementation of New Teacher Evaluation Systems

It has been three years since Race to the Top grant-winning states piloted new teacher evaluation systems and many of them have made considerable progress, yet according to media coverage and a Government Accountability Office report published in April 2015, struggles remain and most grantees have asked to extend the timetables for completing this work. Given the enormous importance and complexity of these reforms — and the fact that states vary widely in the timing, approach, and success of their implementation work — this is an excellent opportunity to assess the progress that has been made and identify where challenges persist. It is imperative that states learn from one another during this implementation stage, and this brief from Patrick McGuinn (Drew University) serves to facilitate the discussion by highlighting what is and is not working in the Race to the Top states.