This report finds that the overwhelming majority of teachers and principals in Chicago Public Schools (CPS) believe the overhaul of the district's teacher evaluation system has promoted teacher growth and instructional improvement; however, teachers also voiced concerns about some elements of the evaluation system, particularly the use of student test scores as a factor in teacher ratings. "Challenges clearly remain for CPS, which must improve communication and training around teacher evaluation and also grapple with teacher's concerns around the fairness of their ratings," said Sue Sporte, the lead author of the report. "Nevertheless, it is promising that teachers and administrators believe the system has the potential to improve instruction, particularly considering that the 2012-13 school year began with the first teacher strike in CPS in over 25 years, and teacher evaluation was a major point of contention." The report is part of a joint study by UChicago CCSR in collaboration with CPS and the Chicago Teachers Union of REACH (Recognizing Educators Advancing CHicago) Students - CPS's teacher evaluation system implemented during the 2012-2013 school year. Chicago, the largest district in the nation to put in place a rigorous new system for measuring teacher effectiveness, has become a national test case for revamping teacher evaluation. More than 40 states, including Illinois, have passed legislation in the last few years mandating the evaluation of teachers based on a combination of student performance and the close examination of teacher practice. States and districts have adopted these new systems in response to a number of factors, including a growing body of research on the importance of teacher quality and incentives from the U.S. Department of Education. This report, the first in a series of reports about REACH, uses survey data and interviews to focus on the perceptions and experiences of teachers and administrators during the first year of REACH implementation. These experiences can be helpful to CPS and to other districts across the country as they work to restructure and transform teacher evaluation. The study of REACH was generously funded by the Joyce Foundation, which supports the development of policies that both improve the quality of life for people in the Great Lakes region and serve as models for the rest of the country.
About the Author: SUSAN E. SPORTE is Director for Research Operations at UChicago CCSR. She serves as the main point of contact with Chicago Public Schools regarding data sharing and research priorities; she also oversees UChicago CCSR's data archive. W. DAVID STEVENS is Director for Research Engagement at UChicago CCSR. He received his PhD in sociology from Northwestern University. KALEEN HEALEY is a Senior Research Analyst at UChicago CCSR. She joined UChicago CCSR after earning her PhD in human development and social policy from Northwestern University. She previously directed a college and career readiness program in Chicago and taught in the Saint Louis Public Schools through Teach for America. She holds a BFA from the University of Notre Dame and an MA from Loyola University Chicago. JENNIE JIANG is a Research Analyst at UChicago CCSR. She previously worked as a researcher at Chapin Hall and as a teacher, both in Chicago Public Schools and in Shenzen, China. She earned an MPP in public policy at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago and an MS in education at Northwestern University. HOLLY HART is a Senior Research Analyst at UChicago CCSR. Dr. Hart has conducted quantitative and qualitative studies of school leaders graduating from three different preparation programs and how these leaders rely on their National Board Certified teachers. She received her PhD in human development and social policy from Northwestern University. The University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research (UChicago CCSR) builds the capacity for school reform by conducting research that identifies what matters for student success and school improvement. Created in 1990 after the passage of the Chicago School Reform Act that decentralized governance of the city's public schools, UChicago CCSR conducts research of high technical quality that can inform and assess policy and practice in the Chicago Public Schools. UChicago CCSR studies also have informed broader national movements in public education. UChicago CCSR encourages the use of research in policy action and improvement of practice but does not argue for particular policies or programs. Rather, UChicago CCSR helps to build capacity for school reform by identifying what matters for student success and school improvement, creating critical indicators to chart progress, and conducting theory-driven evaluation to identify how programs and policies are working.