$575 million program has no impact on student outcomes

$575 million program has no impact on student outcomes
Findings from an evaluation of a $575 million program to improve teacher performance found that, while sites implemented new measures of teaching effectiveness and modified personnel policies accordingly, the program had no impact on student outcomes.

The Intensive Partnerships for Effective Teaching initiative, designed and funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, aimed to dramatically improve student outcomes by improving students' access to effective teaching. Three U.S. school districts and four charter management organizations participated in the program, which ran between 2009 and 2016.

The final evaluation report, published by the RAND Corporation, found that by the end of 2014-15, outcomes for students in the sites that took part in the initiative were not better than outcomes for students in similar sites that did not take part. There was no evidence that low-income minority (LIM) students had greater access than non-LIM students to effective teaching. In addition, it found very few instances of improvement in the effectiveness of teaching overall, and no improvement in the effectiveness of newly hired teachers compared to experienced teachers. The evaluation also found no increase in the retention of effective teachers, although there was some decline in the retention of ineffective teachers in most sites that took part in the initiative.
The report states several possible reasons that the initiative failed to achieve its goals for improving student outcome:
  • Incomplete implementation of the key policies and practices
  • The influence of external factors, such as state-level policy changes during the initiative
  • Insufficient time for effects to appear
  • A flawed theory of action
  • A combination of all these factors

Views: 68

▶ Reply to This

JOIN SL 2.0

SUBSCRIBE TO

SCHOOL LEADERSHIP 2.0

Feedspot named School Leadership 2.0 one of the "Top 25 Educational Leadership Blogs"

"School Leadership 2.0 is the premier virtual learning community for school leaders from around the globe."

---------------------------

 Our community is a subscription-based paid service ($19.95/year or only $1.99 per month for a trial membership)  that will provide school leaders with outstanding resources. Learn more about membership to this service by clicking one of our links below.

 

Click HERE to subscribe as an individual.

 

Click HERE to learn about group membership (i.e., association, leadership teams)

__________________

CREATE AN EMPLOYER PROFILE AND GET JOB ALERTS AT 

SCHOOLLEADERSHIPJOBS.COM

New Partnership

image0.jpeg

Mentors.net - a Professional Development Resource

Mentors.net was founded in 1995 as a professional development resource for school administrators leading new teacher induction programs. It soon evolved into a destination where both new and student teachers could reflect on their teaching experiences. Now, nearly thirty years later, Mentors.net has taken on a new direction—serving as a platform for beginning teachers, preservice educators, and

other professionals to share their insights and experiences from the early years of teaching, with a focus on integrating artificial intelligence. We invite you to contribute by sharing your experiences in the form of a journal article, story, reflection, or timely tips, especially on how you incorporate AI into your teaching

practice. Submissions may range from a 500-word personal reflection to a 2,000-word article with formal citations.

© 2026   Created by William Brennan and Michael Keany   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service