It is undeniable that a seismic shift has occurred in teacher evaluation policy across the country. It is now easier to count the number of states not requiring student achievement in teacher evaluations than those that are. 

But what is occurring more slowly are the policy changes that will connect the rich performance data from these systems to tenure decisions, professional development, compensation, teacher preparation, and consequences for ineffectiveness. Although many states are still in the early stages of developing and implementing new teacher evaluation designs, it is not too early for states to be building the policy framework to use evaluation data in meaningful ways.

In a new paper released today, NCTQ takes a closer look at the state of the states. Connect the Dots: Using Evaluations of Teacher Effectiveness to Inform Policy and Practice provides a detailed and up-to-date lay of the land on teacher evaluation policies across the 50 states and DCPS. We then take a more in-depth look at the states with the most ambitious teacher evaluation systems, including their efforts to connect the dots. We also offer some advice and lessons learned from states' early experiences on the road to improving teacher evaluation systems.

Which states are connecting the most dots?  Louisiana is at the head of the pack, followed closely by Florida and Tennessee.  Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Michigan, Rhode Island and DCPS are also ahead of the curve.  

 Find the whole report, including state-specific recommendations, here.