From 2010-2012, more than 20 states passed legislation designed to address educator effectiveness by mandating annual evaluations based in part on student learning and linking evaluation results to key personnel decisions. This report surveys more than 20 states' laws and rates each on the law's strengths and weaknesses in teacher evaluation design requirements, transparency and public reporting of evaluation data, principal autonomy over teacher hiring and placement, and the extent to which the law links teacher evaluation results to key personnel decisions, including tenure, reductions in force, dismissal of underperforming teachers, and retention.
