Citation:
Abstract:
Evaluation and training are important features of the employment relationship between teachers and the schools they work for. The first feature, evaluation, involves performance measures and often performance incentives linked to those measures, like bonuses or the threat of dismissal. This chapter reviews research on whether and how evaluation and incentives change teaching, including unintended effects. Potential mechanisms include changes in a teacher’s effort or skills, or changes in the composition of the teacher workforce through selection. Many (quasi-)experiments document increases in the measures used to determine rewards or consequences for teachers, but it is less clear whether those increases represent improvements in student learning or welfare. Research on the second feature, training, typically focuses on formal training programs, where evidence of benefits is inconsistent at best. This chapter reviews evidence on both formal training, as well as informal ways in which teachers appear to learn new skills at work.