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Key Points
* A majority of teacher dismissal cases in Atlanta from 2011 to 2017 were related to
issues of professionalism, including not showing up for work, not following a directive
from a supervisor, or not completing tasks (i.e., grading).
* Only 4 percent of these teacher dismissal cases mentioned teacher effectiveness,
teacher quality, instruction, or student learning.
* Teacher dismissal cases were more likely to feature illegal undertakings, including
sexual activity, physical abuse, or financial irresponsibility, than to reference an
employee's ability to teach.
In recent decades, teacher policy has been central to
education policy. During the Obama administration,
federal efforts incentivized states to adopt teacher-
evaluation reforms through No Child Left Behind
waivers and Race to the Top (RTTT) grants. Embedded
in these reforms was the belief that teacher evaluations
historically have not been good at improving teaching
performance or identifying and dismissing low-
performing teachers., State and federal policy, then,
has tried to refocus efforts on determining which
teachers are effectively improving student achievement
and which teachers are not.2 Forty-three states have
altered teacher-evaluation criteria since 2oo to
include some component of student performance
(i.e., test scores) into teacher evaluations.3 This is
a stark departure from traditional teacher evaluations
in public schools, which have relied exclusively on
a limited number of principal observations to assess
teacher quality.
Georgia reflects many of the national trends in
teacher policy. The state was awarded $4oo million
in RTTT funds in zoo. Its application was lauded
as having a plan that will use teacher and principal
evaluation data to inform the full range of personnel
decisions.4 After being awarded this RTTT grant,
the state's teacher-quality rating by the National
Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) advanced from
a C- in 2009 to a C in zon to a B- in 2ox3,2015, and
2017, placing Georgia in the top 2o percent of states.
NCTQ has credited Georgia with strong alternative
teacher-preparation program options, teacher and
principal evaluations, and data systems for evaluation,
as well as linking evaluation to professional growth.
In terms of areas for improvement, NCTQ suggested
ensuring objective evidence of student growth as
a determinant factor in teacher evaluations and
report[ing] school-level data about teacher
performance to help support the equitable distribution
of teacher talent.s This means that RTTT was
AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.amenin/aeiaaxk0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)