The Effects of More Frequent Observations on Student Achievement Scores A Regression Discontinuity Design Using Evidence from Tennessee Seth B. Hunter Abstract In the early 2010s, Tennessee adopted a new teacher evaluation system. Recent research finds Tennessee teacher effectiveness substantially and rapidly improved after this reform. However, there is little empirical research exploring which components of the reformed system might have contributed to this growth. Using longitudinal data, I apply a local regression discontinuity design to identify the effects of more frequent classroom observations, a cornerstone of Tennessee evaluation reform, on average student achievement scores. Much of the identifying variation is associated with an increase from one to two policy-assigned observations per year, potentially limiting the generalizability of results. However, most Tennessee teachers are assigned one or two observations by state policy, making this a margin of primary interest in the Tennessee context. Among teachers included in the research design, there is no evidence the receipt of an additional observation per year improved teacher effectiveness. Descriptive analyses suggest weak implementation of observational processes may explain the absence of positive effects. Implications are discussed. Acknowledgements Seth would like to thank Dale Ballou, the Tennessee Department of Education, and the Tennessee Education Research Alliance for valuable feedback. WORKING PAPER This is a working paper. Working papers are preliminary versions meant for discussion 2019-04 purposes only in order to contribute to ongoing conversations about research and practice. Working papers have not undergone external peer review. vu.edu/TNEdResearchAlliance 615.322.5538
[email protected] @TNEdResAlliance Hunter 1 1. Introduction Since the mid-2000s, most state and large local education agencies have substantially reformed their teacher evaluation systems (Steinberg & Donaldson, 2016).