Teacher evaluation systems are being overhauled by states and districts across the United States. And, while intentions are admirable, the result for many new systems is that good-often excellent-teachers are lost in the process. In the end, students are the losers. In her new book, Linda Darling-Hammond makes a compelling case for a research-based approach to teacher evaluation that supports collaborative models of teacher planning and learning. She outlines the most current research informing evaluation of teaching practice that incorporates evidence of what teachers do and what their...

This book will help school systems improve their teacher workforce by drawing important lessons from nations with high-performing educational systems, as well as from successful state experiments in the United States. The authors examine common features and differences in the approaches of high-performing systems that made education a top priority and developed high-leverage strategies to meet their goals. Their varied solutions offer valuable ideas for how to create a strong teacher and school administrator corps from recruitment and preparation through induction, professional development,...