Finding the Link: Teacher Evaluation and Professional Development

The race to reform teacher evaluation has begun. With plenty of evidence that current systems of teacher evaluation are seriously flawed, and unprecedented government and private funding to improve these systems, states and districts are in the midst of major overhauls. At the same time, there is near consensus that professional development systems are also in dire need of improvement.

The link between evaluation (how well are you doing?) and professional development (how can you improve?) is key to successful performance management systems in nearly every other industry. Yet, in education there is still far too little attention to how these two core elements of teacher performance inform one another, and how, in policy and practice, they can be systematically aligned.

On June 30, 2010, Education Sector hosted a live panel discussion on emerging strategies to link teacher evaluation and professional development and the implications of Race to the Top funding and the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act on the long-term improvement of these core elements.