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Report: Teachers and Policymakers Differ on Effectiveness Measures

By Anthony Rebora

Teachers’ views on how instructional effectiveness should be measured, as well as how it could be improved, are not well-aligned with current education policy initiatives, according to a new survey report.

The survey, conducted by Learning Point Associates and Public Agenda , found that the most popular indicator of instructional effectiveness among classroom educators is student engagement in coursework, with 92 percent of public school teachers surveyed rating it as a “good” or “excellent” measure.

By contrast, only 56 percent of teachers rated student performance on standardized tests as a good or excellent teacher-effectiveness indicator, making it the least popular option. Teachers with less than five years experience were more likely than experienced teachers to be...