Evaluating Teacher Preparation Programs with Teacher Evaluation Ratings: Implications for Program Accountability and Improvement

States are incorporating evaluation ratings into new, multioutcome teacher preparation program (TPP) evaluation systems, yet little is known about the relationships between TPPs and the evaluation ratings of program graduates. To address this gap, we use teachers’ ratings on the North Carolina Educator Evaluation System to determine whether TPPs are associated with the evaluation ratings of their initially prepared teachers. We find that (a) teachers from certain TPPs have significantly different evaluation ratings than graduates of other programs; (b) it is important to adjust for elements of school context when analyzing the evaluation ratings of program graduates; (c) evaluation ratings are a function of preparation quality, not just selection into programs; and (d) evaluation ratings provide evidence on the performance of TPPs that is distinct from value-added. Our results indicate that evaluation ratings can be a valuable component of TPP evaluation systems and provide guidance for incorporating ratings into such systems.