High Quality Teaching and Learning: Do We Know It When We See It (And When We Don't)?

"If we improve the quality of instruction, we can improve student learning." When this notion is discussed with school and district leaders, it does not produce consternation or debate; people nod as if it were a long-held and self-evident truth of schooling. In fact, the link between teacher quality and student learning has been debated intensively, as practitioners and scholars have struggled to understand what matters most for improving student achievement. What is known now, thanks to recent research, is that teacher quality matters. It helps explain the relative differences in student achievement across nations, and it helps explain variation of student learning across classrooms. The implication for educators is straightforward: district and school leaders must support improvements in instructional quality. What is not so straightforward is how to discern "quality". In this article, the authors suggest three aspects that make teaching difficult for educational leaders to analyze but that are necessary to understand if school and district leaders are to lead effective large-scale instructional improvement. (Contains 5 notes.)