The Sensitivity of Teacher Performance Ratings to the Design of Teacher Evaluation Systems

Authors
Matthew Steinberg,
Matthew Kraft
Year of publication
2017
Publication
Educational Researcher
Volume/Issue
46(7)
Pages
378-396

In recent years, states and districts have responded to federal incentives and pressure to institute major reforms to their teacher evaluation systems. The passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act in 2015 now provides state policymakers with even greater autonomy to redesign existing evaluation systems. Yet, little evidence exists to inform decisions about two key system design features: teacher performance measure weights and performance ratings thresholds. Using data from the Measures of Effective Teaching study, we conduct simulation-based analyses that illustrate the critical role that performance measure weights and ratings thresholds play in determining teachers’ summative evaluation ratings and the distribution of teacher proficiency rates. These findings offer insights to policymakers and administrators as they refine and possibly remake teacher evaluation systems.

Suggested Citation

Steinberg, M., & Kraft, M. (2017). The Sensitivity of Teacher Performance Ratings to the Design of Teacher Evaluation Systems. Educational Researcher, 46(7), 378-396