RFA & PACER inform debate on teacher effectiveness

Posted by Alison Murawski on Sep 30, 2011 in Blog

Informing the debate: RFA’s new policy research clearinghouse releases first issue brief on teacher effectiveness

Just as students returned to school this month, Pennsylvania’s lawmakers also returned to the state capitol to begin their legislative session. Foremost among their assignments is the redesign of the commonwealth’s teacher evaluation system — a policy that has the potential to dramatically alter the landscape of education in our state.

But where will our lawmakers get the reliable, nonpartisan, research-based information they need to make good decisions about weighty educational policy issues?

Building on RFA’s two decades of research in school reform, the Pennsylvania Clearinghouse for Education Research – PACER – provides state policymakers and education stakeholders with relevant, rigorous, nonpartisan research on critical emerging issues. PACER will link current and emerging education debates with summaries of the most rigorous scholarship on each topic — all with the goal of ensuring that Pennsylvania emerges as a leader in tackling reform questions with the best-available evidence and data.

We are happy to share our first research brief on the central issue of teacher quality and effectiveness, which is the most important, in-school influence on student academic achievement.

We are also happy to announce that RFA has partnered with Philly.com to ensure that this important work reaches and engages a broad, diverse audience. Be sure to visit the site to read the brief, participate in a live chat today at 12:00 noon with our executive director, Kate Shaw, and read the editorial about PACER that appeared in today’s Philadelphia Daily News.

Clearly, we are living and working through a dynamic period of education policy change and the pace and scope of reforms is unprecedented. Thanks to the generous support of the Heinz Endowments and Team Pennsylvania Foundation, RFA is able to supply the best research available on educational policy issues of deep importance to the commonwealth.