Impact Evaluation to Inform the Teacher and School Leader Incentive Program

Congress mandated that IES conduct an independent evaluation of the Teacher and School Leader Incentive Program (TSL), which supports a variety of strategies aimed at improving the quality of teaching and attracting and retaining effective educators. In response to the legislative mandate to evaluate the TSL program, the first evaluation component addresses the need to understand the characteristics of districts that received TSL grants and the key strategies they are using to improve educator effectiveness and student achievement. The focus of the second evaluation component arises from a need to assess effectiveness, focusing on a single, common strategy of designating teacher leaders to provide coaching to other teachers. This strategy of focusing on a single, common strategy of grantees is part of an evidence-building strategy for the program that complements evidence on other aspects of the grant that have been previously evaluated. More research is needed to provide guidance on whether this teacher leader strategy improves teacher effectiveness and student achievement. The second component of the evaluation uses a random assignment design to study the impacts (and implementation and cost-effectiveness) of the teacher leader role in non-TSL districts.

The latest form for Impact Evaluation to Inform the Teacher and School Leader Incentive Program expires 2026-06-30 and can be found here.