Making a Tough Choice - Teacher Target-Setting and Student Achievement in a Teacher Performance System Using Student Learning Objectives

Sep 15, 2026

Uploaded by Liam

Student learning objectives (SLOs) are used within teacher performance systems, yet limited evidence explains how teachers select specific student learning goals. This study documents teachers’ SLO target-setting behavior in a southeastern school district, measuring the accuracy and ambitiousness of targets and examining incentives created by evaluation and pay-for-performance rules. Results show teachers frequently set targets that students do not meet, while higher spring test results appear on assessments tied to higher targets, suggesting potential effects of target assignment.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages21

Reading Time53 min

AccessFree to download

SLO Policy Landscape

Teacher Target-Setting and Evaluation Incentives

District Implementation of SLO Systems

Accuracy/Ambitiousness of Targets and Student Outcomes

AERA Open January-December 2021, Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 1–21 DOI: 10. 1177/2332858420979778 Article reuse guidelines: [sagepub.com/journals-permissions](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[ ](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)© The Author(s) 2021. [http://journals.sagepub.com/home/ero](http://journals.sagepub.com/home/ero) Making a Tough Choice: Teacher Target-Setting and Student Achievement in a Teacher Performance System Using Student Learning Objectives Allison Atteberry University of Colorado Boulder Sarah E. LaCour University of Kentucky The use of student learning objectives (SLOs) as part of teacher performance systems has gained traction quickly in the United States, yet little is known about how teachers select specific students’ learning goals. When teachers are evaluated—and sometimes compensated—based on whether their students meet the very objectives the teachers set at the start of the year, there may be an incentive to set low targets. SLO systems rely on teachers’willingness and ability to set appropriately ambitious SLOs. We describe teachers’SLO target-setting behavior in one school-district. We document the accuracy/ambitiousness of targets and find that teachers regularly set targets that students did not meet. We also find that, within the same year, a student’s spring test scores tend to be higher on the assessments for which they received higher targets. This raises the intriguing possibility that receiving higher targets might cause students to perform better than they otherwise would have. Keywords: descriptive analysis, educational policy, regression analyses, secondary data analysis, teacher assessment, teacher research Over the past 15 years, U.S. federal initiatives like Race to the Top (RTTT) and the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) have pushed states and districts to incorporate individual measures of student growth into teacher evaluation systems (BergJacobson, 2016) . That requirement is often met by linking teachers to their students’growth on end-of-year (EOY) statewide assessments (e.g., value-added measures [VAMs]), particularly in math and English language arts (ELA) in Grades 4 to 8. Yet this strategy raises at least two challenges. The first is logistical: VAMs can only be produced for teachers in tested subjects and grades—about 20% to 30% of a district’s teachers. A second concern is that evaluation systems linked solely to EOY tests fail to incorporate teachers’ professional expertise and knowledge of their students. There have been a number of responses to these challenges but one that may address both is implementing student learning objectives (SLOs) systems. District SLO systems mandate a process by which teachers establish concrete, annual learning targets for their students, typically on some assessment chosen at the classroom, school, or district level. Since the SLO process does not necessarily rely on statewide tests, the approach can be used to cover a broader spectrum of teacher roles. Because teachers are more directly involved determining what reasonable goals should be, there is more reliance on the teacher’s professional judgment and their knowledge of the student’s context. The act of setting clear goals, along with having ambitious expectations for learners, may help teachers inform and improve their daily practice. These aspects ofSLOs make them a potential lever for addressing the shortcomings of teacher evaluation systems that rely solely on teacher VAMs described above. Little is known about how SLO systems are implemented in practice. In particular, teachers are not necessarily trained on how to select appropriate learning objectives on the given assessment their school or district has adopted. Moreover, when teachers are evaluated based on whether their students meet the very objectives the teachers set at the beginning of the school year, there appears to be a perverse incentive to set low targets. The success of SLO systems relies on the

FAQs

What problem does the study address about SLO-based teacher performance systems?

The study addresses how teachers choose learning goals when evaluations and sometimes compensation depend on whether students meet the teachers’ set objectives. It highlights the risk of incentives to set low targets.

How is the district’s SLO system implemented in the study?

The district piloted the SLO system for four years, requiring teachers to set concrete annual learning targets using classroom, school, or district-selected assessments.

What key findings relate SLO targets to student outcomes?

Teachers regularly set targets students did not meet, yet within the same year students’ spring test scores tended to be higher on assessments associated with higher targets.

Sep 15, 2026

Uploaded by Liam