The National Council on Teacher Quality announced 2017’s most-shared research articles by Teacher Quality Bulletin subscribers, with two Vanderbilt papers making the list.
Topping the Personal Favorite Study category was “Using Teacher Effectiveness Data for Information-Rich Hiring,” authored by faculty in the Department of Leadership, Policy and Organizations at Vanderbilt’s Peabody College of education and human development. The authors include Research Assistant Professor Marissa Cannata, Patricia and Rodes Hart Professor and department chair Ellen Goldring, with colleagues Mollie Rubin, Jason Grissom, Christine Neumerski, Timothy Drake and Patrick Schuermann.
The study explains that despite the current data-soaked education environment, the distance between data collection and data use is long. The paper examines this challenge and identifies ways that district central offices can better communicate with principals on how to use data to make the most informed hiring decisions.
A second study was recognized in the category of Interesting Study That Deserves Further Research. “Assessing Principals’ Assessments: Subjective Evaluations of Teacher Effectiveness in Low- and High-Stakes Environments,” was authored by Jason Grissom, associate professor of public policy and education, with UCLA’s Susanna Loeb.
This study looked at how principals evaluate teachers formally versus how they view them privately. They found that principals are reluctant to speak candidly. But the teachers they rated lower on the informal ratings also were rated lower on the formal ratings and both ratings correlated with teacher value-added scores, meaning that principals know good teaching from not-so-good teaching—they just are hesitant to call it out.
The National Council on Teacher Quality is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit research and policy organization that is committed to modernizing the teaching profession. The organization conducts research to assist states, districts and teacher prep programs with teacher quality issues.