How Policy Instruments Explain Implementation of Teacher Evaluation Policies under Local Control

Teacher evaluation policies have become increasingly central as a promising way to enhance student learning. We examine how teacher evaluation policies in a Great Lakes state have played out at the district level based on a policy instruments framework. Drawing on interview data collected from 11 school district administrators, we found that the policies featured mandates, capacity building, and hortatory policy instruments while the conditions that these instruments need to be successful were not met. This misalignment, coupled with a high level of local control, seemed to generate challenging contexts for districts to implement the policies in effective ways.