Direct and Indirect Policy Influences on Local Efforts to Improve Teacher Quality

It is well known that policies such as state certification and the federal “highly qualified” requirements are direct efforts to improve teacher quality at the school and district level. It is also possible that growing accountability pressures on schools to raise student test scores have indirect effects on schools’ efforts to alter their teacher quality. Drawing from interviews of district officials and 30 principals over a two-year period in a midsized district, we examine the degree to which principals implement or “bridge” these external demands and how this is reflected in their hiring preferences. As expected, principals who generally bridge external demands give less weight to characteristics such as strong teaching skills and knowledge of subject matter whose importance is emphasized in the current policy environment. We also identify and discuss various conflicts among local, state, and federal policies regarding teacher quality and how principals address these conflicts in their decision-making.

986_aera2007policyinfluencesonteacherquality.pdf