Project Description
DIR, under subcontract to Mathematica Policy Research, will support the evaluation of the Teacher and School Leader Incentive Program (TSL). The TSL program is designed to improve educator effectiveness by assisting states, local educational agencies (LEAs), and nonprofits to develop, implement, improve, or expand human capital management systems that measure performance and guide ongoing, targeted support. The two-component evaluation will include collecting implementation information from the FY2017 grants and an impact evaluation of a core strategy that is commonly funded among the TSL grants.
To inform the selection of the intervention to be studied in the impact evaluation, the team will collect and analyze in-depth information about the teacher leader role as implemented by the FY2017 grantees. Data collection for the impact study will include teacher leader enrollment and activity forms, a teacher survey for the implementation year, a principal survey, student administrative records data, and a grantee survey.
DIR’s team of recruiters will work closely with the Mathematica team to identify and recruit eligible TSL and non-TSL districts and secure their participation through memoranda of understanding. High-performing teachers within each treatment school will be recruited and paid to provide support to 2-3 lower-performing teachers. DIR will also collect administrative data on student characteristics and test scores, as well as other relevant covariate and subgroup information. These data will be collected for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school year. The study sample will include approximately 10 school districts, 100 schools, and up to 100 teacher leaders.