Teacher performance appraisal policies are a part of a global complex of accountability based teacher policies. This paper is a study of the Ontario teacher performance appraisal (TPA) system. First, the paper describes the education reform contexts associated with the origins and adoption of the TPA policy. Then the paper reports on the results of a mixed methods study that aimed to understand the effects and implications of the TPA policy from the perspective of the teacher. The study, based on a survey and interviews with 125 teachers focused on the implementation stage of the policy and demonstrates the disparate ways the policy has been taken up across the province. (Contains 3 footnotes.)