Effects of Annual Professional Performance Review on Teacher Efficacy, Instructional Practices, and Professional Development

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of new Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) legislation on professional development, instructional practices, and teacher efficacy. Additionally, teacher perceptions of the impact of new APPR standards on the disability classification rate in their school districts were examined. A mixed-method survey was conducted comparing two Average Needs, public school districts, in New York. Although similar student demographics were reported, the disability classification rate in District 1 was above the state the average and District 2 below the state average. The results of this study revealed that the implementation of APPR legislation significantly affected teacher's perceptions of professional development, instructional practices, and teacher efficacy. Professional development proved to be of high importance for all teachers in both districts. However, there was little consensus about the effects of APPR on the disability classification rates.

What Are the Relationships Between Poverty, Attendance, Teacher Evaluations, and High School Graduation Rates?

The focus of this study was to examine the relationships among poverty, attendance rates, the New York State's Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) teacher evaluation system, and student achievement. The setting of this study was high schools from New York State's Nassau and Suffolk counties, a suburban region of New York City. The results of this study showed that poverty had a strong negative correlation with graduation rates from the Regents Diploma, accounting for 31.02 percent of the variance. However, the negative impact that poverty had on the graduation rates from the Regents Diploma with Advanced Designation more than doubled. While high school student attendance rates had a weak, but statistically significant, positive correlation with Regents Diploma graduation rates, the positive correlation more than tripled with the Regents Diploma with Advanced Designation graduation rates. The New York State teacher evaluation system did not have the desired effect on student achievement.

Accountability and “Racing to the Top” in New York State: A Report from the Frontlines

Background & Purpose This article focuses on the current educational reform movement in New York State resulting from the state's receipt of $700 million in Race to the Top (RTTT) money. Specifically, the article will focus on one aspect of the RTTT requirement, which requires that school districts develop teacher accountability systems that are based in part on test data, i.e., the Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR). We will provide an account of how the New York State Education Department's implementation of RTTT has changed the role of educators, eroded autonomy in publicly controlled schools, promoted a culture of mistrust, diverted funds from the classroom to meet governmental directives, and paved the way for corporate vendors to profit from taxpayer money. Finally, we will examine whether the APPR policy developed to hold teachers accountable using an objective metric is a reliable and valid one. Research Design We examine the APPR legislation passed by both the legislative and executive bodies of New York State by focusing on field guidance documents and legislation released by the State Education Department (SED) as well as memos we received from SED. We also review how school districts have decided to implement APPR in their local environment. Finally, articles appearing in the press about the APPR have also been surveyed to ascertain key themes about the question whether teacher effectiveness can be objectively measured by those standards set forth by the SED. Conclusions The APPR policy as it is currently implemented is an unreliable tool in measuring teacher performance. Its subjectivity and inconsistent implementation calls into question the core purpose of this reform, i.e. to rid schools of poor performing teachers, while identifying those that are excellent. The implementation of RTTT and APPR has deteriorated the quality of public education in New York State by creating confusion through untested policies, creating a culture of distrust, diverting money from the classroom to for profit vendors, and developing a pedagogical methodology of teaching to the test.