Making an Impact: Linking Teacher Evaluations to Student Performance

Following years of dialogue and debate, as of 2012 all three states represented in the Philadelphia region – Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware – have moved to link K-12 teacher evaluations to student performance.

Each state has passed legislation and is in the process of designing, piloting, and implementing new teacher evaluation systems that incorporate student performance among a set of other variables in assessing the performance and effectiveness of K-12 teachers. It remains to be seen whether these emerging teacher evaluation efforts will adopt best practices from other states that link ongoing professional development to student outcomes to ensure that teachers receive additional support to enhance their practice before getting penalized for poor performance.