Foundations and Assessment of Education/Edition 1/Foundations Table of Contents/Chapter 7/7.5.2

Teacher Evaluation: Why or Why Not?

Learning Targets

After you have read this article, you should be able to identify why evaluating a teacher is important and the different methods use to evaluate. If parents, students, and educators get involved in the way our children are getting taught in the classroom teachers can be more successful in teaching.The involvement that parents, students, and educators have to make sure our children are getting the proper teaching.

Introduction

The school principal, administrators, and even students are all involved in evaluating a teacher's performance and quality of teaching. These people have an important role because they ensure that the teachers are performing a great job and that they have the proper skills and preparation to teach the course. The evaluation can determine how much knowledge the teacher have to teach the material and can also give feedback for improvements. The school administrators and principal have the final responsibility to evaluate a teacher. Their task can be very challenging, and they must be both judgmental and open minded; especially in evaluating teachers and reassuring audiences (parents, legislators) that good work is going on in the classroom and the students are achieving. As a parent, I want to make sure that my children are spending time with a well qualify teacher and also an experience educator. An evaluation can give recognition to a good teacher and to the school where the teacher teaches. Students that are passing with high grades can have a significant impact on how well the teacher is doing his or her job.

The old evaluation system that ignores student achievement and finds virtually all teachers "satisfactory" does not address whether students are actually learning.

Why Evaluate a Teacher?

The evaluation process gives a chance to see how well that teacher is performing and creates accountability. It can also show dedication for teaching and student academic progress. The evaluation can promote ways for teachers to become better educators and give solutions to academic problems. A research done by the University of Haifa, Israel addresses the validity of teacher evaluation measures produced by the Tennessee Value Added Assessment System (TVAAs). The system analyzes student test score data and estimates the effects of individual teachers on score gains. These effects are used to construct teacher value-added measures of teaching effectiveness. We describe the process of generating teacher effectiveness estimates in TVAAS and discuss policy implications of using these estimates for accountability purposes (Kupermintz, 2003). The evaluation results can bring everyone together in the field of education to gather ideas, skills, and knowledge from each other to help students achieve many dreams and be better learners. In Virginia, teachers are evaluated according to planning and assessment, instruction, safety and learning environment, communication and community relations, and professionalism.

Guidelines in Virginia

Virginia is on the leading edge in reforming educator evaluations. First, with the passage of the Education Accountability and Quality Enhancement Act of 1999 (the Act), Virginia requires evaluations of educators based on certain criteria, including student academic progress. The policy behind the Act is to provide strategies to train and evaluate educators with a primary focus on increasing student achievement and school safety (www.cepionline.org).

Why NOT Evaluate a Teacher?

Some teachers don't agree with getting evaluated, but the problem is the method used for evaluation that they feel is not fair or precise. Some methods are the principal observing in the classroom,the result of test scores, and not sufficient assessment to evaluate if a teacher is good enough to teach a class. Not all districts use the same method, but some of them use teacher's choice, student surveys, student achievement data, multiple data sources, and principal observation of the class. The principal sits unannounced in the classroom and takes notes assessing the teacher. Evaluators need to keep in mind that some days in the classrooms are better than other days; especially if you have a student with lots of problem outside of school. Teachers don't agree on being evaluated on student test scores or student achievement data because home environment, well good nourishment, language barriers, and many more factors play a significant role on student's performance in school. The state of teacher evaluation is a significantly and frequently neglected problem in public education, an enterprise that spends $400 billion annually on salaries and benefits. Because teacher evaluation is at the center of the quality of teaching in the nation's classrooms, it has the potential to be a powerful lever of teacher and school improvement (Toch, Rothman, 2008).

What are the benefits of a teacher evaluation?

An evaluation will help the teacher grow professionally and develop academic strategies to help the student succeed. It also provides feedback on academic achievement from the student and teacher. A good evaluation or unsatisfactory evaluation can also reflect the school system because it can lead to poor evaluation of teachers and improvement is required. The teacher can self-evaluate a curriculum material to enhance student learning and receive peer coaching to guide them. Effective teacher evaluation programs link teaching to ongoing professional development opportunities that address the needs identified by both the teacher and the evaluator(s). Evaluation must balance the identification of strengths and positive aspects of performance with the identification of areas needing improvement (www.nctm.org).

Conclusion

My goal is to be a Spanish Teacher and have the credentials necessary to be the best. If getting an evaluation is going to help me develop professionally and remind me why we teach, then why not use an evaluation. Students are held responsible for their studies and behavior in the classroom, so I think teachers need to be held accountable for improper teaching.

Students who have several effective teachers in a row make dramatic gains in achievement, while those who have even two ineffective teachers in a row lose significant ground, which they may never recover. Indeed, students who achieve at similar levels in the third grade may be separated by as many as 50 percentile points three years later, depending on the quality of the teachers to whom they were assigned! (Futernick, 2003)

The quality of learning depends largely on the quality of teaching, teacher evaluation clearly is essential in effective schools.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What system is use to do an evaluation?

A. Teacher Evaluation Profile Survey B. resume C. group meetings D. observation

2. Why is an evaluation important?

A. aptitude B. awards C. pay increase D. school system

3. Which state is one of the first to require student academic progress as part of an evaluation?

A. New York B. Florida C. Virginia D. Jamaica

4. The teacher comes to class prepare, on time, and ready to teach or the teacher who just read from a book. Who qualifies as a good review?

A. knowledge B. careless C. preparation D. developed professionally

Answer Key: 1. c 2. a 3. a 4. d

References

Esch,C (2008) Put Teachers To the Test. Educators Should Be Evaluated Based On Their Students Exam Scores. Retrieved February 2, 2008 from http://www.newamerica.net/publications/articles/2008

McCay, E. Policy Issues: Staffing/Educational Leadership. Teacher Evaluation. Retrieved February 2, 2008 from http://www.cepionline.org/policy_issues/staffing/p_teacher_eval.html

Toch, T. and Rothman, R. (2008) Rush to Judgment: Teacher Evaluation in Public Education. Education Sector Reports. Retrieved January 30, 2008 from http://www.educationsector.org

Kupermintz, H. (2003) Teacher Effects and Teacher Effectiveness: A Validity Investigation of the Tennessee Value Added Assessment System. Retrieved January 30, 2008 from http://www.epa.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/25/3/287

NCTM. Teacher Evaluation and Effectiveness. Retrieved February 4, 2009 from http://www.nctm.org

Futernick, K. (2003) Why Teacher Quality And A Teaching Credential Matter. Retrieved February 4, 2008 from http://www.edfordemocracy.org/TQI/TQI_Quality_Matters.htm

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