Strong evaluation systems are foundational to improving teacher and principal quality; evaluations recognize excellence, support development, and address ineffectiveness. They must be meaningful, objective, and fair. With regard to teacher evaluations, Michigan is exemplary. By 2015-16, student growth will comprise 50% of both teacher and principal evaluations; educators' evaluations are annual, tied to professional development and a four-tier rating of effectiveness, and based on observations and multiple measures. Principals, however, are not evaluated based on their management of teachers, a critical component when assessing school leadership. By requiring this criterion in principal evaluations, Michigan can continue its leadership in this area. The state's evaluation criteria are not subject to contract negotiations, ensuring these systems will be subject to change based on student interests alone.

Basing personnel decisions on performance is critical to building schools that retain effective teachers and make student achievement paramount. Michigan is notable in this area; specifically, the state uses teacher effectiveness to drive decisions around teacher assignment, layoffs, and tenure. Michigan dismisses teachers with three years of ineffective performance, allowing schools to have the authority to build and maintain an effective instructional team. Furthermore, when teachers are forced to be laid off during a budget-induced reduction in force, districts must use performance to determine layoffs, and seniority is expressly prohibited from being used. With regard to tenure, teachers receive this status after serving a five-year probationary period. Attainment and revocation of tenure are tied to performance. While there are areas to improve, Michigan has created a system that prioritizes students and great teachers, using teacher performance as the driving influence for all personnel decisions.

To encourage a high-quality, diverse workforce, professional pay should be based on performance rather than other non-classroom factors such as seniority or degrees held. Michigan has implemented a statewide compensation system that rewards its most effective teachers and administrators. All public schools are required to implement a method of compensation that includes job performance and accomplishments, linked to student growth as measured by evaluations and other objective criteria. To further strengthen Michigan's performance-pay system, the state should require student outcome measures be the primary criteria used for determining pay increases, expressly prohibit automatic pay increases for master's degrees alone, and prioritize student outcome measures in its performance assessment.

Michigan is a leader in alternative certification with its interim teaching certificate. First, the candidate must hold a bachelor's degree, have a minimum of a 3.0 GPA, and pass basic skills and content-area exams. The candidates may teach while working toward their interim certificate. Furthermore, approved providers are not limited to universities. Michigan law only provides vague guidance for the approval, evaluation, and decommissioning processes. However, the Department of Education does provide an annual summary of "teacher preparation institution performance scores," which is detailed but does not include teacher effectiveness based on student achievement. To ensure kids have access to effective teachers, there must be a clear process for holding programs accountable.

Michigan recently passed a law, which takes effect in 2015, that will empower parents by requiring that parents are notified when their children are placed in a classroom with an ineffective teacher. Michigan currently ranks schools and provides school report cards. To further empower parents with information, Michigan should require that its school report cards include an annual A_F letter grade for each school, and the grade must be calculated based on student achievement. Michigan should empower parents by establishing a parent trigger law that allows a majority of parents to band together at the grassroots level and petition to turn around low-performing schools throughout the state.

Michigan must ensure its students are not trapped in failing schools by increasing quality school choice options for parents. Currently, the state allows for the formation of public charter schools, yet it lacks essential accountability provisions to ensure these options are quality choices for parents. Additionally, the state should create a publicly funded scholarship program for low-income students in chronically failing public schools to attend a private school. However, any private school accepting publicly funded scholarships must adhere to accountability standards.

Children stuck in chronically failing schools should have an option to attend another school of their choice without being punished by the state through reduced funding. Michigan public charter schools receive the same per-pupil expenditure of their resident school district unless this amount exceeds a statewide maximum for charters. Michigan should remove this cap on funding to ensure public charter schools receive comparable resources. Michigan should also remove its skimming provisions that currently allow up to 3% of a charter school's funding to be retained by the charter's authorizer. Although charter schools have some access to facilities financing, Michigan should establish the charters' right to locate in unused school buildings and excess public spaces.

The ability to turn around failing schools is often hampered by bureaucratic red tape and politics. However, Michigan is an exemplary state when it comes to allowing for alternative governance structures that streamline accountability. At the state level, Michigan has recently created the Education Achievement System, a state-run school district that will take over some of the lowest-performing schools in the state. At the local level, Michigan allows mayoral control of qualifying school districts.

Given the limited resources available for public education, states must ensure that districts spend as many dollars as possible in the classroom rather than in bureaucracy and that the dollars invested drive the greatest change. Michigan does not impose ineffective restrictions on class size past the third grade, which provides school districts with necessary staffing flexibility. Michigan also allows districts to contract for services when it is in the best interests of both students and taxpayers. However, Michigan should provide greater spending flexibility to school districts by removing other restrictions. Moreover, Michigan should empower data-driven decisionmaking by improving the financial data it collects and linking spending to academic achievement. The law should enable governance changes when resources are mismanaged.

Attracting a high-quality workforce will require a competitive retirement plan. Portable retirement options, such as 401(k) plans, are an essential component of compensation packages and make the teaching profession more competitive. It is a classic win-win for teachers and districts. Since July 2010, all Michigan public school employees are automatically enrolled in a hybrid defined benefit-defined contribution retirement plan. Employees hired after September 4, 2012, can now choose between the existing hybrid plan and a portable defined contribution plan. Michigan has made significant progress. However, to provide teachers with the most flexibility and ensure sustainability of the existing system, Michigan should require teachers to participate in its defined contribution plan and permit charter schools to opt out of this system.