(Dr. Joshua H. Barnett is CEO of the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET), USA)

Evidence and experience reveal that students with ineffective teachers will rarely catch up with their peers. The good news is that there are solutions for improving teacher effectiveness and students learning outcomes

Joshua Barnett

The research is clear: effective teachers are the most important factor impacting student success. Yet the quality of teaching in classrooms varies widely, even within high-performing schools. Evidence and experience persistently reveal the same story — students with ineffective teachers, particularly for multiple years, will rarely catch up with their peers. The good news is that there are solutions for improving teacher effectiveness and students’ learning outcomes.

In the US, the Phoenix (Arizona)-based non-profit National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET) works with governments, schools, and other organisations to ideate systems and structures that improve instruction at scale, across all classrooms. NIET is driven by the mission to build educator excellence to provide every student opportunity for success. Elevating talented teachers into teacher leadership roles and placing them at the centre of efforts to improve students’ learning outcomes is our prime objective.

This innovative, comprehensive approach is known as TAP System for Teacher and Student Advancement. NIET’s TAP system was developed by Los Angeles-based philanthropist-educationist Lowell Milken. Over the past 25 years, it has been utilized in thousands of US and partner schools worldwide.

Through implementation of four interrelated elements — career advancement pathway, school-based professional learning, research-based instructional strategies and fair, performance-based compensation — teachers in schools across the US are improving their teaching and students’ learning outcomes.

TAP allows teachers to pursue a variety of objectives throughout their careers based upon their interests, abilities, and accomplishments. The system allows some effective teachers to advance professionally without having to leave the classroom. It also provides opportunity for teacher leaders to emerge from classrooms. Unlike traditional models of professional development, TAP provides teachers with an in-school professional development system that is ongoing, job-embedded, collaborative, student-centred, and led by teacher leaders who are locally developed content experts.

As a complement to professional learning, TAP provides a comprehensive, research-based structure for observing and providing feedback to teachers and honours and rewards them for effective teaching. TAP also changes the compensation structure of effective teachers by providing additional stipends for new roles and responsibilities, accomplishments in the classroom, and students’ learning improvement.

Creating a shared vision for great classroom teaching-learning. As larger numbers of teachers enter classrooms through non-traditional preparation, it is important to develop a shared vision of strong classroom teaching grounded in research and best practices. NIET’s effective instruction program provides new and veteran teachers  ongoing support for continuous improvement.

NIET not only works with schools and supervisory district authorities, it also provides guidance to governments to develop frameworks for building teacher capacity. The NIET Teaching and Learning Standards Rubric (NTLSR) provides a holistic, evidence-based set of practices for teaching effectiveness and strengthening classroom observation and feedback. In the US, the state governments of Louisiana, South Carolina, and Tennessee, as also thousands of standalone schools have successfully used NTLSR for institutional improvement.

Improving students learning outcomes. As policymakers continue to look for innovative ways to accelerate teacher development and help schools meet ambitious academic goals, NIET’s TAP System has established a national reputation as a comprehensive, sustainable, high return on investment framework. Moreover, TAP’s positive impact on teacher effectiveness and student achievement has proven itself as an evidence-based, high-impact program. In 2023, a study released by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) confirmed improvements in students’ academic and long-term socio-economic outcomes in schools and districts implementing the TAP System. NBER researchers estimated TAP benefits exceeded its costs by a positive 14:1 ratio.

Strengthening teaching-learning at scale. Twenty-five years ago, opportunities for teachers to advance their careers within a school were rare. Today, however, we have strong compelling evidence that a comprehensive system which invests in teacher leadership development through research-based strategies such as high-quality collaborative learning, effective teacher support, use of research-based rubrics and fair compensation, has a significant impact on teacher retention and effectiveness.

Robust evidence demonstrating the positive impact of TAP is a beacon for educators, policy makers, and leaders worldwide looking for better ways to support teachers and improve students’ learning outcomes. NIET invites governments and school leaders to connect with us to develop teacher leaders and establish effective professional development systems for educators so that their students will thrive.