Every child deserves a great teacher. That’s why our schools need policies that support teachers’ development, keep our best teachers in the classroom, and counsel consistently ineffective teachers out of the classroom.
In 2009, the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) attempted to accomplish just that by implementing IMPACT, a comprehensive teacher evaluation system. It uses multiple measures to assess teacher effectiveness—including student growth on standardized assessments— paired with a clear incentive structure to provide constructive feedback to teachers and to incentivize teacher improvement.
Today, the Stanford Graduate School of Education and the University of Virginia Curry School of Education released an analysis of IMPACT’s effects on teacher retention and performance. And the message is clear: IMPACT is working as intended. Indeed, good teachers are becoming better, struggling teachers are becoming more effective, and ineffective teachers are exiting the classroom.
...
