Evaluation Of A Teacher Performance

The practice of evaluating students and teachers based on expensive and stressful standardized testing has been the focus of educational reform for over a decade and has thus far proven to be ineffective (Ravitch 51).

First of all, continual feedback allows teachers to self-reflect on best practices. For example, a teacher can target his/her areas of weakness in order to grow professionally and gain further insight of best practices. Another benefit, of teacher evaluations is higher student success rates. These, for example, are measurable through district assessments and state standardized assessments. If a teachers success rate has significantly improved through modification of practices, T-TESS has served its intended purpose. Finally, yet another benefit of teacher evaluations is the fact that the educator is an active participant in his/her evaluation process. For example, through goal setting, the educator is allowed the opportunity to decide where he/she want to grow. Through the evaluation cycle and the communication therein, the appraiser and educator both take greater responsibility in understanding and meeting established goals. Finally, at the end of the process, student growth is an indicator of a well-developed and integrated evaluation system. These are but a few of the many benefits reaped from an evaluation systems such as T-TESS (TEA,

As schools across the nation look for a uniform method to evaluate teachers’ performances, concerns about both methods are highlighted. NYC is using the Danielson Framework to evaluate teachers this year; some concerns have been brought up by administrators and the teachers union. In the piliot program it was noted by one administrator that “some of her teachers are not scoring as high on the rubric as she would expect — precisely because the rubric expects the same general characteristics in all grades” (Cromidas, 2012). This is because in the Danielson Framework the observer is looking for weather a teacher is doing the behavior or not. Check mark - there is no distinction between a new teacher and a veteran teacher. The other thing that administrators are noting that the “practicing observing teachers using Danielson had proved to be time-consuming” (Cromidas, 2012). It is recommend that they observer spends a number of informal observations lasting at least 15 minutes in the classroom before the official observation and that the report be turned around in 48 hours to the teacher.

This is putting a lot pressure on teachers and is resulting in “Teaching to the Test”, which means they are spending a great amount of time teaching students only the objectives that they know will be on the test. This is only a small sample of what students should be taught throughout the school year. Another effect of these evaluations is the loss of effective teachers. A survey by NEA Today showed that nearly forty-five percent of teachers have or have contemplated leaving their profession. It is clear to see teachers’ evaluations need less emphasis on their students’ standardized test scores and more on their ability to teach. This would allow teachers to teach a wider range of objectives and be evaluated on their ability to teach and not their students

Ch. 1 – What are my classroom assessment responsibilities as a teacher and how can I fulfill them in ways that maximize the success of my students? This chapter speaks to the nature of what sound assessment is, and the importance of really involving students in this process. Assessment is, of course, FOR the students. The idea that assessment is used by the students, and that teachers should “demystify” assessment and the meaning of success in their classroom is a very simple one, but one that is often forgotten in the context of high-stakes test-ridden classrooms, and schools that view letter grades as the only evidence of learning.

Elizabeth Public Schools (Union County) is the fourth largest by enrollment district in the State of New Jersey. Approximately, there are 23.000 students enrolled in the school system. There are 31 schools in the district.

Darling-Hammond, L. (2013). Getting teacher evaluation right: What really matters for effectiveness and improvement. Teachers College

After reading the report, one could characterize current teacher evaluation practices as little more than missed opportunities to increase the effectiveness of teachers and assure that the best teachers stayed in front of students. Practitioners generally agreed with the premise of the critique, and confirmed the identified evaluation weaknesses as both common and wide-spread among school districts. Using teacher effect research and the validity of value-added measures as a platform, and armed with the belief that the sample practices were representative of those in districts across the country, the authors of The Widget Effect urged educational leaders and policy makers to implement specific teacher evaluation reforms, many of which informed (or mirrored) those becoming increasingly prevalent in federal and state

In order to ensure that students have the greatest chance for achievement, it is vital that school communities know that they have high quality teachers in place. To accomplish this task, systems have developed that integrate set measures aligning what teachers do and what happens as a result. These may include evidence of student work and learning, as well as, evidence of teacher practices derived from observations, reflection, recordings, artifacts, and various forms of feedback. Educational experts such as Marzano, Danielson, Stronge and others have published examples of evaluation models. While they vary in emphasis and design, they are similar in that they attempt to provide a framework for measuring the impact of a teacher on a student’s learning. Clearly, this is a daunting and challenging task and there is a risk involved in attempting to make something

In 2013 the Englewood public school system adopted the Danielson framework to evaluate teachers. Prior to the Danielson framework teachers we evaluated through a district created evaluation system. The change to the Danielson evaluation too was very tumultuous as the administrator as well as the teachers had to become acclimated to the new method. Unlike the previous measurement tool Danielson divided teaching practice into four domains. Each domain address different aspects of teaching practice that once achieved is supposed to resulting in more effective teaching and higher student academic achievement. Each domain has a level

Holding educators to student performances on standardized tests is a current trend being utilized by state and local school boards, but the standards to which teachers are being held are vague and leave teachers lost on how to improve their craft. In 2013, the Bill and Melissa Gates Foundation funded a study of current teacher practices in order to identify effective strategies linked to increased student achievement. The data obtained from the study lead to discussions surrounding the current teacher evaluation process. Those discussions have led to a realization that evaluations tied to specific teacher feedback appeared to have greater impact on teacher improvement and as a result, increased student achievement (Goodwin & Hein, 2016). In the search for any artifacts involving the formalization of teacher evaluations, one article provided a guideline which state and local educational governing bodies could use when creating evaluation criteria for teachers. According to the findings cited in the article, “developing a comprehensive teacher evaluation system is far from straight forward [and] policymakers should make every effort to ensure teachers are being evaluated fairly and accurately” (Hull,

Education reform takes on different forms depending on the goals of reformers. However, most will agree their ultimate goal is to positively impact student achievement. Changes in public education continues to increase teacher accountability, as well as, update curriculum standards and standardized tests. The teacher evaluation system is one focus of recent initiatives. While district implement new teacher evaluation methods, skepticism surrounds its effectiveness, in improving teaching, and comprehensiveness, in assessing the multi-faceted role a teacher plays in the lives of students. I have experienced the good, bad, and ugly of the teacher evaluation system of Shelby County.

Herbert bravely sets his sights upon the sacred cow of the educational system, teacher quality. By boldly holding teachers accountable for the outcomes of their students, Herbert describes the road map needed for improvement. Describing how high performing teachers had astonishing results with under-performing students provided the reader with a concrete example of the changes that he believes are needed. Providing the reader with current practices of school districts, these being a focus on credentials of the teacher’s, rather than on their quality inside the classroom. Job performance must be assessed within a classroom in order to prepare the students for the future. “Studies have clearly shown that the good teachers and the not-so-good ones can actually be identified, if they are carefully observed in

Across the United States, policymakers determine evaluation systems for public school educators. Used as a tool for increasing teacher effectiveness and accountability, teacher evaluation systems vary from state to state as determined by individual state departments of Education. According to Sergiovanni & Starrat (2002), the role of the evaluation process is important in developing teachers’ instruction, which should contribute to academic achievement of students. Evaluation should provide meaningful feedback to teachers, to improve instructional practices and support learning (Kelley and Maslow, 2012).

“There is an unequivocal correlation between student achievement and teacher quality.” Direct supervision and evaluation of teachers should effectively address teacher quality, and thereby effect student learning and achievement. Bret Range, an associate professor of educational leadership at the University of Wyoming has written two papers and maintains a blog related to teacher supervision. His research indicates, “the key to teacher development lies within well-planned teacher supervisory activities.”