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Introduction

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has been asked by Congress to conduct a study of programs that foster collaboration on teacher quality initiatives. As part of this study, we are surveying officials of state education agencies and leaders in higher education who are knowledgeable about their states’ roles in fostering collaboration and building an integrated approach within states to improving public school teacher quality. The survey asks questions about collaboration among offices, agencies, and institutions on teacher quality since 2002. For the purposes of this questionnaire, collaboration can be defined broadly as any joint activity that is intended to produce more public value than could be produced when organizations act alone. The term collaboration is intended to include activities that may also be referred to as “cooperation,” “coordination,” and “integration.” The term teacher quality refers to the quality of PK-12 public school teachers and may include such areas as teacher preparation, certification and licensing, recruitment, hiring, retention, professional development, performance, and accountability, among other areas. This questionnaire is being distributed to state education agencies (SEAs) and state agencies for higher education (SAHEs) in the states plus the District of Columbia. It includes questions that allow for categorical and open-ended responses. Except where noted, you should respond to each question from the perspective of your own agency. Please note: If, in order to answer any question in this questionnaire, you need to confer with another individual in your office or another agency to obtain the requested information, please feel free to do so. To determine if consultation is needed, it may be helpful to preview all questions before completing the questionnaire. We understand that there are great demands on your time; however, your response is critical to help us provide information to Congress. Thank you in advance for your time and consideration.

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Full Report: GAO-09-593

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