Plan for Evaluating and Improving Formative and Summative Teacher Evaluation

The first way of evaluating performance may be through self-evaluation, either via a reflective journal or by writing an evaluation on a lesson plan or scheme of work. After each lesson I deliver, I write a short evaluation which has

Based on the Georgia Department of Education, Georgia has a new way of evaluating all of its teachers. Beginners teachers are held with the same standards as tenured teachers. The evaluation is through Teacher Keys Effectiveness System (TKES) which is consist of three components which gives to an overall Teacher Effectiveness Measure (TEM). First component is Teacher Assessment on Performance Standards (TAPS). The second component is Surveys of Instructional Practice (student perception surveys). Lastly Student Growth Percentile and Student Learning Objective. (SGP and SLO).

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.

During web based instructional design (WBID) and development, formative evaluation will occur from school experts including the schools technology manager, assistant principal of curriculum, and the business department chair. They will review the materials presented in the WBI (web based instruction) elements for design, content, graphics, structure, message, and technical specifications. Formative of the final WBI prototype will take place as a small group of students (one section) field test the WBI over a term. Test and assignment scores, student participation, surveys, and discussions with students will assist with determining the relative successes and failures of the program as well as areas that need improvement.

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

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

Educational policies guide professional practice. By developing policies, agencies determine appropriate courses of action to aid individuals in applying a set of procedures in a systematic and equitable manner. My essay describes the Spotsylvania County Public School’s (SCPS) policy on Teacher Evaluation and traces its roots through the various levels of regulatory entities. In order to provide a rich context, pertinent case law and applicable literature in terms of the topic is also presented within the essay.

Just like this week’s content, my school is a “mixed bag” of evaluations. First, we have our Head Start Program, which is federally funded, so they have their own evaluations. These evaluations consist of “board members” coming in to evaluate/assess the teacher and classroom as well as meetings that the teacher and her paraprofessional have to attend every other month. These meetings help them focus on the current curriculum that their program has in place to ensure that the program is doing what it is meant to do.

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 the state of South Dakota, the legal requirements of the state and school districts when it comes to supervision and procedures, expectations align with both. The state of South Dakota has adopted the Teacher Effectiveness Model along with any district that is state accredited. This model is based on the Danielson framework, which consists of 22 components, clustered into domains one through four (Danielson, 2007). According to this model, teachers from year one to year three are evaluated at least annually and those teachers year four and beyond are evaluated at least every other year. The state formed a work group made up of teachers and administrators who developed an evaluation instrument that will not only be a tool for administrators to use, but also for teachers.

Thank you for your sharing your assessment of formative and summative evaluation methodologies. I agree with you assessment that both forms of evaluation add tremendous value to a program (Staten, 2015), as well as the organization for which the program evaluation is being conducted. You made a wonderful observation regarding the nature of formative evaluation and the methods of communication which may be used. As you pointed out, formative evaluation may be communicated simply be sending periodic emails (Staten, 2015). Often evaluators may feel that elaborate mechanisms of formative presentations must be made in order to add value, and yet quick methods of communication like email, allow for immediate access to the information

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).

Finally, after the evaluation, the evaluator fills out the evaluation form. They write down what the teacher does well. They also write one or two suggestions depending on the need. At a later date the evaluator will set up a private meeting with the employee to go over the evaluation. It is important that strengths be focused on first when going over the evaluation. After the meeting the employee will sign the evaluation form. A copy is given to the employee and a copy is maintained in the employees

“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.”