Teacher evaluations: shortsighted backpedalling or measured course correcting? A bit of both.
With Congress having reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act earlier this year, there's been a lot of celebration from some camps...
Déjà vu all over again in Chicago
For all intents and purposes, Chicago Public Schools appears to be out of money—having recently borrowed $725 million just to...
State Teacher Policy at a Tipping Point: NCTQ releases 9th Annual Yearbook
Upon the release of our first comprehensive Yearbook that included state grades in 2009, the headline read: "Taken as a whole,...
States’ Teacher Evaluation Policies Stay the Course
NCTQ has been tracking teacher policy for a decade. Over these years, no policy has seen such dramatic transformation as...
End double—and lower—standards for special education teachers
Almost 6.4 million students—about 13% of students overall—receive special education services. Meanwhile, nearly the same percentage of the teacher workforce...
A new tool for teacher policy change: the gavel
"It should not take this long."A simple sentiment, but one that likely resonates with almost any teacher who has ever...
Our worry is spelled FERPA, not ESEA
The lack of a major new teacher-related initiative in the Alexander-Murray ESEA draft doesn't have us especially worked up. It shouldn't be...
Doing the Math on Teacher Pensions
Just do the math and it is clear that things don't add up for teacher pension policies. NCTQ calculates that state teacher...
Breaking through the teacher performance plateau
Can schools make teachers more effective? In thinking about that question, your mind probably goes to professional development or other training activities....
Ready or not: New teachers and the transition to higher standards
In the five years since most states adopted Common Core State Standards or their own version of college- and career-readiness standards, about...
Benefits of ambivalence: A new tenure policy holds promise for student gains
Policy fixes are necessary to lay the groundwork for change, but it's in the implementation of those policies where the rubber...
Victory for Students in California…and Students Everywhere
California Judge Strikes Down All 5 Challenged Statutes in Vergara v. California Case
Why I hate (pension) math
Pension math is like a splinter. It's going to get infected and become even more painful if you do nothing....
New from NCTQ: Teacher evaluation timelines
To help illustrate the teacher evaluation landscape, NCTQ has developed a set of briefs that provide a primer on each...
The new buzz is the same as the old buzz: Foundational early reading skills and the Common Core
Although foundational reading skills are included in the Common Core, are they getting kicked to the curb as yesterday's buzzwords?
New from NCTQ: 31 states improve grades in latest State Teacher Policy Yearbook
Is your state making progress in adopting policies that support effective teachers?
New from NCTQ: Are states connecting the dots between teacher evaluations and other key policies?
In a new paper released today, NCTQ takes a closer look at the state of the states on teacher evaluations.
Pensions: The bump in any fiscal road
You need look no further than this weekend's New York Times for evidence that the pension crisis continues to loom...
Value and challenges in using student data for teacher prep accountability
Our new brief offers six core design principles for connecting student achievement data to teacher preparation programs.
Which pension plan will teachers choose?
A new analysis of teachers in Washington state shows an answer that might surprise some policymakers.
Putting COLA on a diet
An article declaring that "pension reform could hit oldest retired teachers the hardest" certainly grabs your attention.
Pension status quo: No one benefits
In our new report, NCTQ examines how teacher pension systems are failing both teachers and taxpayers.
State teacher prep policies at a glance
States play an enormous role in setting the framework for teacher preparation programs. So enormous, in fact, that policies...
State Teacher Prep Policies At a Glance
Check out our new "At a Glance" summary of key findings, a master table of states' teacher prep policies, and...