"The stars are finally aligning. Education leaders, from Washington to our school principals here in Rochester NY, are finally declaring what many believed for a long time—that the quality and effectiveness of the classroom teacher is critical to urban school reform. Dr. Goldstein provides substantial evidence that teacher leaders can have tremendous impact on increasing teacher accountability and performance and she provides a great roadmap for PAR implementation."
—Jean-Claude Brizard, Superintendent, Rochester City Public Schools

"Finally, a book-length treatment of one of the most important innovations in teaching practice in the last half century. Peer review works and those who are skeptical about the capacity of unionized teachers to hold themselves accountable should open their minds to the evidence presented here."
—Charles Taylor Kerchner, Claremont Graduate University

"No one knows better the difference between good teaching and bad than the best teachers themselves. That is why peer review is controversial only where it does not exist. Jennifer Goldstein's thorough and thoughtful book is an important guide for doing peer review right."
—Adam Urbanski, a vice-president of the American Federation of Teachers

This book examines a policy that is one of the most powerful levers to improve teaching quality and advance teaching as a profession. Jennifer Goldstein presents the story of Rosemont, an urban district in California that created “professional accountability” with peer assistance and review (PAR), an alternative approach to teacher evaluation in which expert teachers evaluate their teacher peers. It challenges a number of long-held beliefs and practices in education— adversarial labor relations, “being nice,” hierarchy, isolation, and negligence—to achieve very different teacher evaluation outcomes. This timely and accessible volume:

• Chronicles a rare case of a teacher union and school district partnering to improve teacher quality and teacher evaluation.
• Presents the most detailed study of PAR implementation, including its processes, challenges, and outcomes.
• Summarizes the state of PAR implementation across the country in an afterword by Susan Moore Johnson.

Jennifer Goldstein is an associate professor in the Baruch College School of Public Affairs of the City University of New York

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