A Teacher Evaluation System That Works

by Glenn Daley and Lydia Kim
August 2010
The NIET Working Paper A Teacher Evaluation System That Works analyzes evidence from TAP's work in the field that validates the strength of TAP's evaluation system in differentiating effective from ineffective teaching; producing classroom evaluations and value-added student growth evaluations that are correlated with and complementary to each other; providing useful information to enable teachers to improve their practice over time; and contributing to an increase in the retention of effective teachers as compared to ineffective teachers. The Research Brief summarizes the findings.

Performance-Based Compensation: Design and Implementation at Six Teacher Incentive Fund Sites

by Dr. Jonathan Eckert
August 2010
Funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Joyce Foundation, this paper presents an analysis of six sites that are implementing teacher and principal compensation reforms under the Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF). Of the six sites studied, four are implementing TAP. Through interviews, focus groups, data analysis and site-based observations, Eckert identified a number of similarities in the design and implementation of these projects. From Eckert's analysis, these common practices contributed to promising results in these six TIF sites and provide insight for states and districts looking to design effective performance-based compensation systems.

The Effectiveness of TAP: Research Summary 2010

by NIET
April 2010
For 10 years, TAP™: The System for Teacher and Student Advancement has pioneered a comprehensive approach to school reform focused on the quality of teaching and the advancement of effective teachers in schools. This comprehensive system of reform is impacting over 7,500 teachers and 85,000 students in schools across the country. Researchers at NIET and elsewhere have studied TAP's effectiveness at raising student achievement, improving the quality of instruction and increasing the ability of high-need schools to recruit, retain and support teachers. This document describes some of the most important results that have emerged from the research to date.

Voices from the Field: Teachers Describe Their Experience With a Bold System of Reform

by NIET
March 2010
Funded by the Joyce Foundation, this paper captures the experiences and perspectives of teachers implementing TAP across the country. While many education observers are familiar with TAP's performance-based compensation element, what is less well-known is the comprehensive and aligned system that enables TAP schools to achieve significant and lasting improvements in teacher effectiveness. Consequently, this report highlights the voices of teachers as they share their perspectives on TAP's other three elements: multiple career paths, ongoing applied professional growth and instructionally focused accountability.

More Than Widgets: TAP: A Systemic Approach to Increased Teaching Effectiveness

by Dr. Jonathan Eckert, Ed.D.
December 2009
This paper outlines how the TAP system effectively addresses the problems that were identified in The New Teacher Project's 2009 report, The Widget Effect: Our National Failure to Acknowledge and Act on Differences in Teacher Effectiveness. More specifically, The Widget Effect made four recommendations to improve teaching effectiveness: 1) differentiate teachers based on effectiveness; 2) identify and train expert evaluators; 3) integrate evaluation with teacher support; and 4) provide options for ineffective teachers. In this paper, Eckert explains how TAP fulfills each of these recommendations in meaningful, sustainable ways.

Aligned by Design: How Teacher Compensation Reform Can Support and Reinforce Other Educational Reforms

by Craig Jerald for the Center for American Progress (CAP)
July 2009
Written for CAP by leading education researcher Craig Jerald, this report counteracts the failures of existing professional development and evaluation systems by citing TAP as a comprehensive system that reforms teacher compensation, along with other support structures, in an effective and sustainable way. Jerald uses TAP to illustrate the importance of building human capital at the school and district levels. The report notes that performance compensation for master and mentor teachers in TAP schools—the "less famous" aspect of this performance-pay reform—is essential to its ability to not only recognize and reward effective teaching but to also systemically generate improvements in teacher effectiveness.

TAP Weaves a Tapestry of Achievement
at Algiers Charter Schools

2009
Algiers Charter Schools Association Case Study (New Orleans, LA)
This case study highlights the implementation of TAP in the Algiers Charter Schools Association (ACSA), which was formed in the wake of Hurricane Katrina to serve a disadvantaged community in New Orleans, Louisiana. This case study explains the history of TAP and the impact it has had on improving teaching skills and student achievement in the Algiers charter schools. After one year of TAP implementation, the six schools with value-added data made at least one year of student achievement gains, and five made more than a year's growth.

Creating a Successful Performance Compensation System for Educators

by Members of the Working Group on Teacher Quality
2007
This document reflects the findings of the Working Group on Teacher Quality, whose participants share information and build consensus among organizations and experts active on the issue of performance pay and teacher compensation reform.

Roundtable Discussion on Value-Added Analysis of Student Achievement: A Summary of Findings

by the Working Group on Teacher Quality
2007
The National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET) and fellow members of the Working Group on Teacher Quality held a roundtable discussion with policymakers, researchers and practitioners with expertise in value-added analysis of student achievement. The purpose of the discussion was to create a broader understanding of how value-added analysis of student achievement can be used as an indicator of teacher effectiveness, and the implications this has for policy and practice. This document presents a summary of the roundtable's major themes, findings and lessons learned. This project was funded with support from the Joyce Foundation and coordinated by NIET.

The Effectiveness of the Teacher Advancement Program

by Lewis C. Solmon, J. Todd White, Donna Cohen and Debbie Woo
2007
The purpose of this evaluation paper is to analyze the impacts of TAP. The evaluation is multifaceted, first comparing student achievement gains of individual teachers and schools to similar, non-TAP teachers and schools, next comparing adequate yearly progress (AYP) of TAP schools to their states overall, and third, examining the attitudes of TAP teachers to the attitudes of teachers in general. The paper concludes that TAP teachers and TAP schools have demonstrated higher achievement growth than controls, have meaningful AYP results, and positive teacher attitudes.