Sorting out the signal: Do multiple measures of teachers’ effectiveness provide consistent information to teachers and principals?

Authors

  • Katharine O. Strunk University of Southern California
  • Tracey L. Weinsten StudentsFirst
  • Reino Makkonen WestEd

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.v22.1590

Keywords:

teacher evaluation, teacher effectiveness, teacher quality, measuring teacher practice, value-added

Abstract

There is increasing policy interest in the use of standards-based multiple measure teacher evaluation systems that include both observational and value-added measures of teacher effectiveness. The growing literature that assesses the relationships between these measures does so mainly in academic settings using a validity lens. While valuable in their own right, this evidence from research-based settings provides little evidence about how teachers and principals receive the different signals from multiple measures of effectiveness when implemented in district contexts. Using pairwise correlations and a series of ordinary least squares regressions, this study assesses the relationships between value-added measures of teacher effectiveness and an observational measure of teacher practice as implemented in a district's pilot of a new standards-based multiple-measure teacher evaluation system. We find moderate correlations between value-added and observation-based measures, indicating that teachers will receive similar but not entirely consistent signals from each performance measure. We conclude by highlighting considerations for districts working to develop and implement standards-based multiple-measure teacher evaluation systems. 

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Author Biographies

Katharine O. Strunk, University of Southern California

Dr. Katharine Strunk is an Associate Professor of Education and Policy at the University of California. Dr. Strunk’s research focuses on issues related to education governance and teacher labor markets. She received her PhD in Administration and Policy Analysis and her MA in Economics from Stanford University. 

Tracey L. Weinsten, StudentsFirst

Dr. Tracey Weinstein is the Director of Policy and Innovation at StudentsFirst, a national advocacy organization that works on K-12 policy issues. Her research focuses on the intersection of district-level reform and the teacher labor market, specifically the implementation and effects of teacher quality initiatives on the composition of the teacher labor market.

Reino Makkonen, WestEd

Dr. Reino Makkonen is a Senior Policy Associate at WestEd, where his research focuses on teacher workforce policy and school and district leadership, including examining current reforms in the assessment of teachers and school leaders. Makkonen received his PhD from the University of California Berkeley Graduate School of Education, with a focus on policy analysis and measurement

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Published

2014-11-10

How to Cite

Strunk, K. O., Weinsten, T. L., & Makkonen, R. (2014). Sorting out the signal: Do multiple measures of teachers’ effectiveness provide consistent information to teachers and principals?. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 22, 100. https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.v22.1590

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Articles