High-performing, high-poverty schools prioritize developing their teachers over holding them accountable.

The authors of a new report studied how six high-performing, high-poverty schools in one large Massachusetts city implemented the state’s new teacher evaluation policy. The sample includes traditional, turnaround, restart, and charter schools, each of which had received the state’s highest accountability rating. They sought to learn how these successful schools approached teacher evaluation, including classroom observations, feedback, and summative ratings.

The authors interviewed 142 teachers and administrators and analyzed data using sensemaking theory, which considers how individuals’ knowledge and beliefs, the context in which they work, and the policy stimuli they encounter affect implementation. All schools prioritized the goal of developing their teachers over holding them accountable.