Initiative: With funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in the amount of 2.3 million dollars, our school district is participating in the “Measures of Effective Teaching” (MET) Project. This national research study is allowing our teachers to work in partnership with independent researchers, five other school districts, their principals, teachers, and unions to develop the information and tools necessary to measure effective teaching. In addition to student assessments and student/teacher surveys about their learning/ teaching environments, teachers provide commentary about their own teaching using newly developed technology. The technology being used captures a 360 degree view of the classroom.

Goals:The study is being done because current measures of teaching rarely take into account the full range of what teachers do or the context in which they teach. It goes beyond the exclusive use of student assessments as a proxy for effectiveness and is geared to developing a set of measures that together serve as an accurate indicator of a teacher’s impact on student achievement. The project’s goal is to help educators and policy makers identify and support good teaching by improving the quality of information available about teacher practice.

Targeted Population: The project involves approximately 725 teachers and their students in 86 schools. Participating teachers receive a stipend honorarium of $1500 paid in three equal installments over the two years of the project. The focus is on Math in grades 4 through 8; English/Language Arts in grades 4 through 8; and Algebra, Biology/Integrated Science I and English I at the high school level. School Project Coordinators (SPCs) are also providing support and are facilitating the data collections at the individual school sites. Each SPC receives a $1500 stipend honorarium and all participating schools receive $1500.

Timeline: The research study is being implemented over two school years (2009/2010 and 2010/2011). Data collections for this school year are still in process, and will continue through next school year, with data collections in schools ending June 2011.

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