Assessing Teacher Quality

Recent educational reforms have promoted accountability systems which attempt to identify teacher effects on student outcomes and hold teachers accountable for producing learning gains. But in the complex world of classrooms, it may be difficult to attribute “success” or “failure” to teachers. In this timely collection, leading education scholars challenge market-based models of school improvement and argue that merely holding teachers accountable for scores on end-of-the-year exams will not lead to educational improvement. The authors show why, in addition to test performance, a close examination of instructional processes and school context are needed in order to truly understand teacher effects and improve learning in our nation’s classrooms.

Book Features:

• A conceptual framework, grounded in studies of real schools and teaching, for an alternative vision of educational reform.
• An interdisciplinary perspective with interpretive chapters covering the most important research dealing with teacher effects on learning and achievement.
• A balanced assessment of the promises and pitfalls of teacher accountability.

Sean Kelly is a visiting assistant professor in the department of Educational Administration at Michigan State University.

"Offers a balanced and thoughtful critique of some of our most popular fads in educational policy."
—Diane Ravitch, New York University

“Assessing Teacher Quality is essential reading for those concerned about raising student achievement. The state-of-the-art quantitative and qualitative empirical research contained in this volume is grounded in a robust theoretical framework and clearly demonstrates the critical role teachers play in the learning process. Kelly’s book makes a significant and timely contribution to contemporary school reform efforts.”
—Maureen Hallinan, William P. and Hazel B. White Professor of Sociology, University of Notre Dame