Effectively Linking Teachers and Students: The Key to Improving Teacher Quality

Date: 7/1/2010

Policymakers must understand the importance of defining the purposes for and developing the policies to support a valid and reliable teacher/student data link. This policy brief outlines some of the most critical challenges facing states and districts as they develop and implement policies based on the teacher/student data link and provides guidance on the emerging best practices for effective implementation, including:
o States must determine how the data from the teacher/student data link will be used, which should drive the policy conversation around how the state will define teacher of record.
o Although IT and data staff are critical in developing the technical solution to capture the appropriate data, policymakers/educators must own the process from the beginning.
o Teachers must have the means to review their rosters to ensure that they are linked to the correct students.
o States/districts must work together on all aspects of the teacher/student data link.

Topic: Teacher Effectiveness