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This study examines the alignment between teacher evaluation and teacher professional learning.

REL Northeast & Islands researchers examined the alignment between teacher evaluation and teachers’ subsequent professional learning in a large urban school district.

The researchers examined the types of professional learning activities teachers participated in, whether or not the reported activities aligned with what evaluators had prescribed, and whether teacher evaluation ratings improved from one year to the next.

Key Findings

• Teachers received written feedback on their instruction from evaluators across all standards of the evaluation rubric
• Teachers participated in more professional activities for the instruction-based standards than for the non-instruction-based standards
• For all standards, less than 40 percent of teachers participated in all the activities their evaluator recommended
• Each prescription provided by the evaluators to the teachers tended to include one or two recommended professional activities, and more of these activities were professional practice activities — such as independent work to improve instruction — versus professional development activities, such as courses or workshops

Read a summary of this report and view the infographic.