Frequency of Evaluations : Alabama

Identifying Effective Teachers Policy

Goal

The state should require annual evaluations of all teachers.

Meets goal
Suggested Citation:
National Council on Teacher Quality. (2011). Frequency of Evaluations : Alabama results. State Teacher Policy Database. [Data set].
Retrieved from: https://www.nctq.org/yearbook/state/AL-Frequency-of-Evaluations--8

Analysis of Alabama's policies

Commendably, all teachers in Alabama must be evaluated at least annually.

The state's newly implemented evaluation system, EDUCATEAlabama, requires that every teacher is observed at least twice, with both observations being unannounced. One observation must occur in the fall (October-mid December), and the other must occur in the spring (late January-March). A post-observation conference follows each formal classroom observation.

Citation

Recommendations for Alabama

State response to our analysis

Alabama recognized the factual accuracy of this analysis.

Research rationale

For the frequency of evaluations in government and private industry, see survey results from Hudson Employment Index's report: "Pay and Performance in America: 2005 Compensation and Benefits Report" Hudson Highlands Group (2005).

For research emphasizing the importance of evaluation and observations for new teachers in predicting future success and providing support for teachers see, D. Staiger and J. Rockoff, "Searching for Effective Teachers with Imperfect Information." The Journal of Economic Perspectives. (24:3) American Economic Association (2010).