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Retaining Teacher Talent
Report 3. Convergence and Contradictions in Teachers’ Perceptions of Policy Reform Ideas
As a new decade dawns, teachers stand at the center of a policy vortex. They serve as the primary focus of one of the Obama administration's four pillars of educational reform—effective teachers and leaders. Educational reformers of all stripes have focused tremendous energy on thinking of ways to identify effective teachers and in turn recruit, retain, compensate, and support them. But what do teachers think of these ideas? What conclusions should reformers draw from teachers' perceptions? This report is the third release of data from the Retaining Teacher Talent study, conducted by Learning Point Associates and Public Agenda with the support of The Joyce Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The report suggests that what teachers think are good indicators of effectiveness—and what they think will make them more effective—are not always aligned with what policymakers or researchers think.
The changes under discussion for teacher evaluation, compensation, and working conditions will most directly affect teachers themselves; therefore, it is important to bring them into the debate. In this report, we do not take sides. Rather, we describe implications of the results of the nationwide survey for policymakers and for teachers who want to influence policy. Read the discussion of the methodology and access the full survey data from the questionnaire.
Contents
How Would Teachers Measure Effectiveness?
How Can We Learn What More Effective Teachers Think?
How Do Teachers Who Perceive Themselves to Be Effective View Their Teaching Conditions?
Printable Version (PDF KB)
Practical Scenario
The conversation in the teachers’ lounge at Franklin High School was getting heated. The subject was the district’s recent proposal to pay teachers bonuses based on their students’ standardized test scores. The teachers didn’t like it, believing that it would create competition, destroy morale, and cause teachers to “teach to the test.” One of the school’s instructional coaches, who had actually been on the district’s design team for the pay-for-performance program, overheard their conversation. “I don’t mean to butt in,” she said, “but actually, the district will be basing your compensation on more than just student test scores, though that’s part of it. In other districts, it was found not to have caused competition between teachers, and more teachers, especially those who received a bonus, were retained.” One of the English teachers spoke up, “Well I haven’t seen the research, but I’m skeptical. Also, why is the district focusing on that issue and not all the other changes they could make that would do a lot more good?” Another asked, “Why don’t they ask us teachers what we think would work?” The instructional coach didn’t have a good answer.
Read Report 3. Convergence and Contradictions in Teachers’ Perceptions of Policy Reform Ideas to learn how the views of policymakers and researchers compare to those of teachers.Go back to main content | Go back to main navigation
Educator Quality
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