The use of student achievement growth models for teacher and principal evaluation is gaining ground. Many school districts are already employing this method, and many more are poised to implement growth measures in their own settings.

The Charleston County School District (CCSD) has been awarded a Teacher Incentive Fund grant to create a performance-based compensation system. With this new initiative, the CCSD aims to dramatically improve the way it measures, recognizes, and improves teacher effectiveness, both in its high-need schools and, ultimately, in the entire district. The rigorous measurement system that CCSD develops may serve as a model for the rest of South Carolina and for other states and districts around the country.

Mathematica supports CCSD in developing and refining a multiple-measures evaluation system for teacher and administrator effectiveness as part of the district’s Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) grant. Mathematica developed and implemented value-added models of teacher and school effectiveness based on South Carolina’s state assessments. Mathematica is part of a team that is also developing student learning objectives as an additional measure of student achievement growth and a reporting system that presents educator effectiveness data to teachers, principals, and other district staff.

CCSD piloted the multiple measure evaluation system for principals and teachers in 14 schools covered by the TIF grant during the 2013–2014 school year. We continue to provide CCSD with technical and analytic support throughout the implementation and refinement process to ensure that the evaluation system is fair, is based on accurate measures, and meets the policy goals of the district.