TIF Awards and growth at the district level

The first Teacher Incentive Fund grantee has recently been announced. This will start a round of federally-supported experiments in generating and using school-, grade-, and classroom-level growth or value-added performance models. There is no telling how well thought out these models will be, but their very existence will drive forward the discussion of equitable treatment of teachers, leaders, and students. It will require districts to focus on both growth and attainment. While some of the discussion will inevitably be contentious, the ability to tie growth outcomes to educational practices is welcome shift.

Chris