An aligned talent management system can help state education agencies recruit, develop, and retain effective educators. The Talent Management Alignment Workbook: An Introduction, developed by Westat staff for work with the Arkansas Department of Education under the Region 14 Comprehensive Center (R14CC), helps develop the state education agency’s capacity to assess talent management policies and practices across multiple state-level programs and/or initiatives. The online module outlines 8 steps to align talent management systems in education and includes a downloadable interactive workbook for state teams to engage in the work.

“It is one of a few tools that technical assistance providers can use to guide leaders of state education agencies (SEAs) through the process of assessing their current state of alignment for talent management practices and develop recommendations to move toward a more coherent system,” noted Westat co-authors Matthew Finster, Ph.D., and Jenna Scott, Ph.D.