Evaluating Technical and Issue Bias in Teacher Evaluation Policy Briefs and State Handbooks

Abstract

Recognizing the need for scientific fidelity and balanced representation in the evidence that informs public policy, this study investigates technical and issue bias in 43 policy briefs and state handbooks that provided information about the use of Student Learning Objectives to evaluate teachers’ performance. The author uses multiple qualitative methods to categorize the contributors to the focal documents, identify the evidence they drew upon, and determine how they represented the information to their targeted audiences. The study reinforces the findings of prior research by documenting the outsized impact of advocacy groups in a policy-related evidence base. The results make an important addition to the scholarly literature by cataloging an array of technical assistance providers that translated and disseminated evidence to decision makers and spotlighting the various ways biased information appeared in the publications. Throughout, the study reinforces how incentives and timing shape evidence production and use in policymaking.