By Zalino Bona
As someone looking in from the outside, teacher evaluation
in the United States appeared to be a controversial and contentious issue causing
big rifts between teachers and policy makers. However, having had the
opportunity to study it in some detail this week, albeit not in depth as I would
have loved to, I have come to understand a bit more about some of the issues faced by stakeholders on both sides of this seemingly divisive topic.
Two
teacher evaluation approaches that I have looked at are:
1.
The
traditional system which is characterized by:
-
‘outmoded evaluative criteria, usually
in the form of checklists with simplistic evaluative comments, such as
"needs improvement," "satisfactory," and
"outstanding" without any consistency as to what those words mean. (Danielson,
2011)
-
evaluation based mostly on classroom
observation.
2.
The Framework for Teaching which identifies those
aspects of a teacher’s responsibilities that have been documented through
empirical studies and theoretical research as promoting improved student
learning… to define what teachers should know and be able to do in the exercise
of their profession. (Danielson, 2011)
In the Framework approach, teacher
performance is judged by teacher practice and effectiveness in the classroom
and impact on student learning. Some states, Tennessee (TVAAS) and New Jersey for
example, have included value-added measures to their systems. Value-added measures,
or growth measures, are used to estimate or quantify how much of a
positive (or negative) effect individual teachers have on student learning
during the course of a given school year. (Edglossary.org) Test results,
combined with other information about students, are used to determine a
“value-added score” for a teacher.
In the New Jersey system, teachers are evaluated based
on multiple measures: Teacher Practice (based on classroom observation) + student
achievement which includes student growth objective set by teacher and
principal + student growth percentile (based on state assessment performance)
= Summative rating which is the overall evaluation score.
Standards for
assessing teacher practice must include evidence of both good teaching practice
and student learning. (AFT) NEA observes that ‘more than 25 new or proposed
state laws and regulations regarding teacher evaluation focused on using
evidence of student learning or achievement in the evaluation process.’ Based
on these observations, it seems reasonable to conclude that evaluations of teacher
effectiveness should be based on multiple measures, including teacher practice,
based on classroom observation, and student achievement.
The problems of teacher evaluations seem to arise
from focusing too heavily on students’ test scores as evidence of teacher
effectiveness. Perhaps mistakes were made in the past, and actions taken that
harmed rather than helped some teachers and schools, but as pointed out by
experts: ‘If used appropriately and thoughtfully, the results of student test
scores can provide useful information to enhance the quality of educator effectiveness
determinations.’ (Colorado Education Initiative, 2014)
Based on what I have learned about this topic, elements that I think should be included in teacher
evaluations are:
- Effectiveness in creating a positive learning environment
- Effectiveness in communicating goals/content and reaching out to diverse learners
- Effectiveness in the classroom which should include evidence of student learning
References:
Danielson, Charlotte. (2011, December 2010). Evaluations that
help teachers learn. The Effective
Educator. 68 (4) 35-39 Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/dec10/vol68/num04/Evaluations-That-Help-Teachers-Learn.aspx
Hull, Jim. (2013, October).Trends in teacher evaluation:
At a glance. Center for
Public Education. Retrieved from http://www.centerforpubliceducation.org/teacherevalreview
Teacher Development
and Evaluation. American Federation of Teachers. Retrieved from
Teacher Evaluation: A Resource guide for National
Education Association Leaders and staff. NEA. Retrieved from https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzYfzjQoASL_eGdtNFdsbXRIRDQ/view
The Teacher Evaluation Overview. (n.d.). AchieveNJ. Department of
Education. Retrieved form http://www.nj.gov/education/AchieveNJ/teacher/
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