Co-Principal Investigator: Codd, Clover; Anderson, Eric; Bastian, Kevin; Marge Plecki

Partner Institutions: Seattle Public Schools (SPS) and the University of Washington College of Education (UW COE)

Purpose:Starting from 2018-19, Seattle Public Schools (SPS) will embark on a joint labor management program—Peer Assistance and Review (PAR)—with the teacher union. The PAR system will apply to all beginning and veteran teachers who are identified as needing improvement based on annual evaluation ratings. This partnership will focus on three aims: (a) to gather information on teacher effectiveness and human resource practices; (b) to conduct data inquiries to study the initial PAR implementation and refine its theory of action; and (c) to sustain the partnership for supporting evidence-based human resource policies and practices.

Partnership Activities: The partnership team will strengthen the partnership through (a) regular communications to review and assess project objectives and activities; (b) problem-based iterative analysis of data to build SPS's data analytic capacity; (c) theory-based inquiry to build SPS's capacity to develop and refine PAR theoretical foundations; and (d) collective policy and practice engagement both internally within SPS and externally.

Setting: The research will take place in SPS, the largest school district in Washington State.

Population/Sample:The sample includes all SPS teachers (about 3,000 annually) since the 2013-14 school year. SPS teachers serve over 54,000 students across 113 schools, with a highly racially and economically diverse student body. The focal samples include beginning teachers (about 200 annually) and struggling veteran teachers (about 80 annually).

Data Analytic Strategy: Researchers will use a convergent, embedded, mixed-methods design. They will complete quantitative analyses of administrative and log data that will include descriptive analysis, fixed effect or multilevel modeling, and synthetic control. The research team will analyze qualitative data using both open- and closed-coding to develop a codebook that builds on both a grounded reading of interview transcripts and existing frameworks.

Outcomes: This partnership team will produce a refined theory of change and measures of implementation for future rigorous and comprehensive evaluations of PAR. Based on findings from this project, partners intend to apply for funding to refine the PAR program and conduct rigorous evaluation of this intervention. Their long-term goals include sustaining and developing the partnership by pursuing projects focusing on promoting equity and excellence through effective teacher talent management.