Current and Future Education Leaders’ Perceptions of Race to the Top’s Teacher Evaluation and Compensation Components, Before and After Implementation

Oct 15, 2026

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A longitudinal study examines how education leaders perceived the fairness and impact of Race to the Top (RTTT) teacher evaluation and compensation reforms. Graduate students’ perceptions were surveyed from pre-implementation (2011) through the final funding year (2014), revealing a negative overall trajectory. Evaluation and compensation elements, including value-added models, were viewed less favorably across most areas by administrative and instructional personnel. The analysis focuses on RTTT components and emphasizes implications for equity in student outcomes.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages17

Reading Time43 min

AccessFree to download

Study Overview

Research Purpose and Focus

RTTT Background and Context

Teacher Evaluation and Compensation Components

Methodological Approach

Pre-test/Post-test Design

Conceptual Framework

SES, Teacher Quality, and Student Achievement

Current and Future Education Leaders’ Perceptions of Race to the Top’s Teacher Evaluation and Compensation Components, Before and After Implementation This manuscript has been peer-reviewed, accepted, and endorsed by the National Council of Professors of Educational Administration as a significant contribution to the scholarship and practice of school administration and K-12 education. Orin Smith Orange County Public Schools Daniel Windish Seminole County Public Schools Rosemarye Taylor University of Central Florida This longitudinal study examined the professional perceptions of educational leaders as to the fairness and impact of teacher evaluation and compensation reforms under Race to the Top. The study surveyed graduate students in education and educational leadership programs to assess changes in their perceptions from prior to RTTT implementation (2011) to the initiative’s final funding year (2014) . Study results revealed a negative general trajectory for perceptions of the fairness and impact of RTTT reforms between 2011 and 2014 . The evaluation and compensation components, including value-added models, were viewed less favorably among administrative and instructional personnel in almost all areas surveyed. NCPEA Education Leadership Review, Vol. 17, No. 1– May, 2016 ISSN: 1532-0723 © 2016 National Council of Professors of Educational Administration Race to the Top (RTTT), the 2010 competitive educational reform initiative, compelled state and local educational agencies to institute systematic reforms to their educational systems that promoted student achievement in America’s public schools. Competing states were asked toenumerate a vision of reforms in specific areas, such as teacher evaluation and compensation, and were awarded federal grant dollars based upon the strength of their proposals. The state of Florida received one of the largest RTTT awards, $700 million, to implement the state's proposed reforms. This study focused on the components of RTTT dealing with teacher evaluation and compensation reform. Although RTTT is the federal government’s first attempt at compelling states to reform their teacher evaluation and compensation systems, state-level reforms have been undertaken on numerous occasions over the last several decades. In previous years, studies on teacher evaluation and compensation reform have been limited and difficult to summarize due to several factors including inconsistent types of reforms and methodological approaches to studying them (Goldhaber, 2010; Goldhaber, DeArmond, Player, & Choi, 2008; Podgursky & Springer, 2007; Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., 2006) . However, Podgursky and Springer (2007) state, While the literature is not sufficiently robust to prescribe how systems should be designed—for example, optimal size of bonuses, mix of individual versus group incentives—it is sufficiently positive to suggest that further experiments and pilot programs by districts and states are very much in order. (p. 943) The lack of extant research related to major pieces ofthe RTTT reforms substantiated the need for a comprehensive look at how these particular components have impacted student achievement. Specifically, the professional perceptions of educational leaders tasked with implementing RTTT reforms needed further study to understand the real-world implications of significant educational reform initiatives. The purpose of this study was to assess educational leaders’ perceptions of RTTT components of teacher evaluation and compensation, with particular emphasis on reforms enacted by the state of Florida and the extent to which those reforms aided students at the bottom of the socio-economic scale. Using a pre-test, post-test model, researchers sought professional perceptions of educational leaders in the state of Florida both prior to, and in the final year of, reform implementation. This approach allowed the researchers to capture long-term shifts in perce

FAQs

What is the main focus of this study on Race to the Top (RTTT)?

The study focuses on leaders’ perceptions of the fairness and impact of RTTT reforms related to teacher evaluation and compensation components.

How were perceptions measured across the RTTT timeline?

Researchers used a pre-test, post-test model by surveying education graduate students to assess perceptions from 2011 prior to implementation through the final funding year of 2014.

What were the study’s overall findings about perceived fairness and impact?

Results show a negative general trajectory in perceptions of the fairness and impact of RTTT reforms between 2011 and 2014, with evaluation and compensation components viewed less favorably in most surveyed areas.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by ahduag