Research Partnership to Improve Human Resource Management in Minneapolis Public Schools

Kristine West, PhD, Assistant Professor of Economics, was awarded a $399,933 grant from the Department of Education. In this project, researchers from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities and St. Catherine\u27s University will partner with the Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) to examine MPS teacher effectiveness measurement and teacher hiring practices. Improving teacher selection (either through improvements in recruiting and screening or through selective retention after a period of observation and performance measurement) could lead to improved performance in the teaching workforce. Researchers, however, have yet to identify reliable predictors of teacher effectiveness observable at the time of hire. The correlation between most commonly considered applicant variables (e.g., education, degree granting institution, and licensure) and later teacher performance are minimal or nonsignificant. The findings of the project will directly inform MPS\u27s decisions concerning their human resources policies and also contribute scholarly findings to the literature on teacher evaluation and applicant variables as predictors of teacher performance