The Association for Education Finance and Policy (AEFP) 2023 conference brought together researchers, educators, and policymakers to discuss the latest developments in educational research and practice. This year’s conference focused on the theme of “equity and justice: education research for the 21st century,” with a particular emphasis on how educational research can help promote equity and justice in our schools and communities.

PK-12 educators can benefit from the insights provided at the conference. This blog discusses some key takeaways.

Accountability Systems

One of the key topics explored at the conference was the design of accountability systems to improve teacher, school, and student outcomes. Presentations such as “Helping to cultivate a more equitable teacher evaluation system in Dallas: an analysis of Dallas’s Teacher Excellence Initiative (TEI)” by Yaxin Wang, et. al., and ” Do the Stakes Matter? The Impact of Differential School Accountability Provisions on Student Achievement” by Samantha A Cullum, et al., shed light on the ways in which accountability systems can be designed to promote student learning and to support equity and justice in education:

  • Accountability systems can be designed to support equity and justice in education.
  • Dallas’s Teacher Excellence Initiative (TEI) is an evaluation-based incentive program that has positive effects on student achievement in math but not in reading. However, the program does not bridge the racial achievement gap and can escalate education inequalities.
  • During the pandemic, accountability systems can have negative effects on student achievement, and policymakers need to be mindful of the lessons learned from past experiences, such as the NCLB waivers.

Teacher Evaluation

Another important area of focus at the conference was the evaluation of teacher performance and productivity. Presentations such as “Teacher Performance Ratings and Classroom Characteristics” by William Delgado and “Policy-Assigned Teacher Observations, Their Implementation, and Student Discipline Outcomes: Main, Mediated, and Moderated Relationships” by Seth B. Hunter, et al., highlighted the latest research on new factors and challenges that may affect teacher evaluation processes:

  • The latest research on how to evaluate and improve teacher effectiveness shows that teacher human capital has causal impacts on student outcomes.
  • Student surveys and classroom observations are important sources of information to consider when evaluating teacher performance. However, there are concerns that both can be biased by various factors. For example, principals may use high observation scores to reward teachers.
  • Requiring schools to complete additional classroom observation visits based on teacher experience and prior year effectiveness may reduce students’ disruptive behaviors, though the mechanism is not fully discovered.
  • Adding more classroom observation visits doesn’t increase principal-reported burden when they are already familiar with the evaluation system.
  • Teacher-student interaction or teacher-student matching is also a factor in explaining the variances of student learning outcomes, which is not considered in teacher evaluation practices. 

Principal Effectiveness

Finally, the conference also explored the topic of preparing effective principals, with presentations such as “A principal who knows us: the paths new school leaders take into the principalship” by Lauren Sartain, et al., and “Principals’ effects on high-school and post-secondary outcomes” by Brendan Bartanen, et al., examining the roles of principals in promoting school performance and student learning:

  • Effective principals play a crucial role in promoting equity and justice in education.
  • Principal internships are largely localized, and principals are increasingly promoted from assistant principal or other internal positions. The paths new school leaders take into the principalship can impact their effectiveness during the transition. The negative effect of principal transition can be alleviated by internal promotion.
  • Effective principals can have long-term positive effects on high-school and post-secondary outcomes, such as college entry.

Overall, the AEFP 2023 conference provided valuable insights into the factors and practices in the accountability systems, the evaluation of teacher effectiveness, and the preparation of effective principals. Being aware of these research findings, K-12 educators can reflect on their own teaching, evaluation, policy-making and other educational practices so that school environment and student learning can be improved.

Xintong Li is an experienced researcher specialized in quantitative methods and educational research. He joined the NEE team in 2018 as a senior research analyst. He received his PhD in Statistics, Measurement, and Evaluation in Education at the University of Missouri. He has publications in methodological foundations and applications and is skilled in advance statistical modeling, programming and large-scale simulations using high-performance computer clusters. His current research interests include causal inference using cross-sectional data and motivation in education.

The Network for Educator Effectiveness (NEE) is a simple yet powerful comprehensive system for educator evaluation that helps educators grow, students learn, and schools improve. Developed by preK-12 practitioners and experts at the University of Missouri, NEE brings together classroom observation, student feedback, teacher curriculum planning, and professional development as measures of effectiveness in a secure online portal designed to promote educator growth and development.