Teacher Quality and Quality Teaching: Examining the Relationship of a Teacher Assessment to Practice

Multiple-choice assessments are frequently used for gauging teacher quality. However, research seldom examines whether results from such assessments generalize to practice. To illuminate this issue, we compare teacher performance on a mathematics assessment, during mathematics instruction, and by student performance on a state assessment. Poor performance on the written assessment predicted poor classroom performance; likewise, strong performance on the written assessment predicted strong classroom performance. However, classroom performance of teachers in the middle of the written assessment distribution varied considerably.