Teacher Performance Evaluations in 

U.S. Public Schools 

DATA POINT 

December 2020 

NCES 2020-133 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

A Publication of the National Center for Education Statistics at IES 

This Data Point compares the sources of information in evaluating teacher performance and how the information is 

used by traditional public school and public charter school principals in the United States. It uses data from the public 

school principal questionnaire from the 2017–18 National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS), a nationally 

representative sample survey of public and private K–12 schools, principals, and teachers in the 50 states and the 

District of Columbia. State representative information is also available for public schools, principals, and teachers. 

What sources of information are 

used when evaluating teachers? 

In the 2017–18 NTPS, public school 

principals were asked to identify the 

sources of information on teacher 

performance their school used in 

teacher evaluations during the prior 

school year (2016–17). Both 

traditional public schools and public 

charter schools used more than one 

source of information on teacher 

performance in completing teacher 

evaluations. While nearly all public 

school principals (98 percent) used 

classroom observations using a 

teacher professional practice rubric, 

more public charter school 

principals videotaped the classroom 

observations than traditional public 

school principals (20 percent versus 

10 percent) (FIGURE 1). 

FIGURE 1. Percentage of public school principals indicating which sources of information on teacher performance the 

school used in teacher evaluations during the last school year (2016–17), by type of public school: 2017–18 

NOTE: Detail may not sum to 100 because principals could select more than one source of information. Type of public school refers to their classification 

as either a traditional public school or a public charter school. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS), “Public School Principal 

Data File,” 2017–18. 

To learn more, visit: https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ntps/. 

For questions about content or to view this report and supplemental tables online, go to https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2020133. 
Teacher Performance Evaluations in U.S. Public Schools 

Of the other eight sources of 

information used in teacher 

performance evaluations, public 

charter school principals reported 

that their schools used five of the 

sources more often than traditional 

public school principals. Over half of 

public charter schools (58 percent) 

used teacher professional credentials,

including experience, education, and 

certification, as a source of 

information in evaluating teachers 

compared to 48 percent of traditional

public schools. Student and parent 

surveys were used as a source of 

information in teacher performance 

evaluations more often in public 

charter schools than traditional 

public schools (45 percent versus 

32 percent and 40 percent versus 

26 percent, respectively). 

Forty-four percent of public charter 

schools used assessments done by the 

principal or other school 

administrator that were not based on 

a teacher professional practice rubric 

compared to 32 percent of traditional 

public schools using this method. 

Public charter schools (32 percent) 

were also more likely to use peer 

assessments compared to traditional 

public schools (24 percent). 

Besides classroom observations, 

more principals in traditional public 

schools used artifacts of teacher 

professional practice or portfolios for 

teacher performance evaluations 

than principals in public charter 

schools (66 percent versus 

56 percent). 

How do public school principals 

use teacher performance 

evaluation results? 

The most common use of teacher 

performance evaluation results was 

for determining teaching 

assignments, reported by 49 percent 

of all public school principals 

(FIGURE 2). 

More principals in traditional public 

schools used teacher performance 

evaluation results to inform 

decisions about teachers when 

granting job protection or tenure 

than did principals in public charter 

schools (39 percent versus 

20 percent). In all other areas, 

including teacher compensation, 

career advancement opportunities, 

and recognition of high-performing 

teachers, a higher percentage of 

public charter school principals 

used teacher performance 

evaluation results than did 

principals of traditional public 

schools.

FIGURE 2. Percentage of public school principals indicating that they will use teacher performance evaluation results to 

inform the following decisions during school year 2017–18, by type of public school: 2017–18 

NOTE: Detail may not sum to 100 because principals could indicate more than one decision that was informed by teacher performance evaluation 

results. Type of public school refers to their classification as either a traditional public school or a public charter school. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS), “Public School Principal 

Data File,” 2017–18. 

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Data Point presents information on education topics of current interest. It was authored by Kim Standing and 

Laurie Lewis of Westat. Estimates based on samples are subject to sampling variability, and apparent differences may not be statistically significant. All stated 

differences are statistically significant at the .05 level, with no adjustments for multiple comparisons. In the design, conduct, and data processing of NCES 

surveys, efforts are made to minimize the effects of nonsampling errors such as item nonresponse, measurement error, data processing error, or other 

systematic error.