Progress on this goal since 2011
- Improved
- Stayed the same
- Regressed
Do states require districts to provide formal, substantive feedback to teachers?
Yes. State requires that teachers receive formal, substantive feedback. : AR, AZ, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, ME, MI, MO, MS, NC, NJ, NY, OR, RI, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WV, WY
No. State does not require formal, substantive feedback; however, teachers receive copies of their evaluations.: AK, CA, MD, MT, NM, NV, OH, OK, PA
No. State does not require formal, substantive feedback.: AL, DC, IA, ID, MN, ND, NE, NH, SD, VT, WI
Footnotes
WI: Wisconsin's educator effectiveness system requires that teachers receive feedback, but it is still in the pilot stages. Full implementation will not begin until 2014-15.
Do states require that teacher evaluations inform teachers’ professional development?
Yes. State requires that evaluations inform professional development for all teachers.: AR, AZ, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, LA, ME, MI, MN, MS, NC, NJ, NM, RI, SC, TN, VA, WV, WY
Partially. State requires that evaluations inform professional development for teachers who earn unsatisfactory evaluation ratings. : AK, HI, IL, IN, MA, MD, MO, OH, PA, TX
No. State does not require that evaluations inform professional development.: AL, CA, DC, IA, ID, KS, KY, MT, ND, NE, NH, NV, NY, OK, OR, SD, UT, VT, WA, WI
Footnotes
WI: Wisconsin's educator effectiveness system requires that evaluations inform professional development, but it is still in the pilot stages. Full implementation will not begin until 2014-15.
Select another topic
Delivering Well Prepared Teachers
- Admission into Teacher Preparation
- Elementary Teacher Preparation
- Elementary Teacher Preparation in Reading Instruction
- Elementary Teacher Preparation in Mathematics
- Middle School Teacher Preparation
- Secondary Teacher Preparation
- Secondary Teacher Preparation in Science
- Special Education Teacher Preparation
- Assessing Professional Knowledge
- Student Teaching
- Teacher Preparation Program Accountability
Expanding the Pool of Teachers
Identifying Effective Teachers
- State Data Systems
- Evaluation of Effectiveness
- Frequency of Evaluations
- Tenure
- Licensure Advancement
- Equitable Distribution
Retaining Effective Teachers
Exiting Ineffective Teachers
Pensions
Research rationale
Professional development should be connected to needs identified through teacher evaluations.
The goal of teacher evaluation systems should be not just to identify highly effective teachers and those who underperform but to help all teachers improve. Even highly effective teachers may have areas where they can continue to grow and develop their knowledge and skills. Rigorous evaluations should provide actionable feedback on teachers' strengths and weaknesses that can form the basis of professional development activities. Too often professional development is random rather than targeted to the identified needs of individual teachers. Failure to make the connection between evaluations and professional development squanders the likelihood that professional development will be meaningful.
Many states are only explicit about tying professional development plans to evaluation results if the evaluation results are bad. Good evaluations with meaningful feedback should be useful to all teachers, and if done right should help design professional development plans for all teachers—not just those who receive poor ratings.
Professional Development: Supporting Research
For evidence of the benefits of feedback from evaluation systems, and the potential for professional development surrounding that feedback, see T. Kane, E. Taylor, J. Tyler, and A. Wooten, "Evaluating Teacher Effectiveness." Education Next, Volume 11, No. 3, Summer 2011; E. Taylor and J. Tyler, "The Effect of Evaluation on Performance: Evidence from Longitudinal Student Achievement Data of Mid-Career Teachers," NBER Working Paper No. 16877, March 2011.
Much professional development, particularly those that are not aligned to specific feedback from teacher evaluations, has been found to be ineffective. For evidence see M. Garet, A. Wayne, F. Stancavage, J. Taylor, M. Eaton, K. Walters, M. Song, S. Brown, S. Hurlburt, P. Zhu, S. Sepanik, F. Doolittle, and E. Warner, "Middle School Mathematics Professional Development Impact Study: Findings After the Second Year of Implementation." Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, May 2011, NCEE 2011-4024.
For additional evidence regarding best practices for professional development, see K. Neville and C. Robinson, "The Delivery, Financing, and Assessment of Professional Development in Education: Pre-Service Preparation and In-Service Training" The Finance Project, 2003.