Teacher Evaluation

2019 ◽  
pp. 11-28
Author(s):  
Cara Faith Bernard ◽  
Joseph Michael Abramo
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Evaluation ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Music Teachers ◽  
The United States ◽  
Evaluation Systems ◽  
State Education ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Common ◽  
Teacher Evaluation Systems ◽  
Laws And Policies

This chapter provides a background on laws and policies related to teacher evaluation in the United States. This background might help music teachers navigate teacher evaluation systems and avoid misunderstanding evaluators’ motivations and pressures. First, the chapter provides a brief history of federal and state education law and education policy. This history is presented as a series of four phases, each aimed to standardize public education. These phases move from evaluating standards through student performance and standardized tests to teacher performance and quality through instructional practice. Second, there is an investigation of how history and policy have led to tensions, disagreements, and contradictions within teacher evaluation processes and policies. Finally, the chapter describes how these tensions have resulted in the common characteristics of teacher evaluation systems found throughout the country. By understanding this background and history, music teachers may begin to actively and constructively participate in teacher evaluation.

Developing a Mindset to Succeed in Teacher Evaluation Systems

2019 ◽  
pp. 29-44
Author(s):  
Cara Faith Bernard ◽  
Joseph Michael Abramo
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Evaluation ◽  
Pedagogical Content Knowledge ◽  
Content Knowledge ◽  
Music Teachers ◽  
Music Teaching ◽  
Pedagogical Content ◽  
Evaluation Systems ◽  
The Common ◽  
Common Problems ◽  
Teacher Evaluation Systems

This chapter discusses some of the common problems music teachers have with teacher evaluation and provides an overall framework or approach that can help music teachers overcome them. This framework can help teachers develop the best mindset and strategies when working through these common challenges. Music teachers commonly mention that the criteria for teacher evaluation are not applicable to music teaching and that non-music evaluators do not provide useful feedback. The framework requires teachers to distinguish between what are commonly called “content knowledge,” “general pedagogical knowledge,” and “pedagogical content knowledge.” In doing this, music teachers might balance advocating for themselves with having an openness to critique and improving as professionals. Through this balance, music teachers can use teacher evaluation to not just survive but also thrive, to successfully advocate for their teaching, and to grow professionally.

State and Local Efforts to Investigate the Validity and Reliability of Scores from Teacher Evaluation Systems

2014 ◽  
Vol 116 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corinne Herlihy ◽  
Ezra Karger ◽  
Cynthia Pollard ◽  
Heather C. Hill ◽  
Matthew A. Kraft ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Evaluation ◽  
Reliability And Validity ◽  
Teaching Quality ◽  
Validity And Reliability ◽  
Evaluation Systems ◽  
Achievement Data ◽  
State Education ◽  
Performance Domains ◽  
State And Local ◽  
Teacher Evaluation Systems

Context In the past two years, states have implemented sweeping reforms to their teacher evaluation systems in response to Race to the Top legislation and, more recently, NCLB waivers. With these new systems, policymakers hope to make teacher evaluation both more rigorous and more grounded in specific job performance domains such as teaching quality and contributions to student outcomes. Attaching high stakes to teacher scores has prompted an increased focus on the reliability and validity of these scores. Teachers unions have expressed strong concerns about the reliability and validity of using student achievement data to evaluate teachers and the potential for subjective ratings by classroom observers to be biased. The legislation enacted by many states also requires scores derived from teacher observations and the overall systems of teacher evaluation to be valid and reliable. Focus of the Study In this paper, we explore how state education officials and their district and local partners plan to implement and evaluate their teacher evaluation systems, focusing in particular on states’ efforts to investigate the reliability and validity of scores emerging from the observational component of these systems. Research Design Through document analysis and interviews with state education officials, we explore several issues that arise in observational systems, including the overall generalizability of teacher scores; the training, certification, and reliability of observers; and specifications regarding the sampling and number of lessons observed per teacher. Findings Respondents’ reports suggest that states are attending to the reliability and validity of scores, but inconsistently; in only a few states does there appear to be a coherent strategy regarding reliability and validity in place. Conclusions There remain a variety of system design and implementation decisions that states can optimize to increase the reliability and validity of their teacher evaluation scores. While a state may engage in auditing scores, for instance, it may miss the gains to reliability and validity that would accrue from periodic rater retraining and recertification, a stiff program of rater monitoring, and the use of multiple raters per teacher. Most troublesome are decisions about which and how many lessons to sample, which are either mandated legislatively, result from practical concerns or negotiations between stakeholders, or, at best case, rest on broad research not directly related to the state context. This suggests that states should more actively investigate the number of lessons and lesson sampling designs required to yield high-quality scores.

Student Voice

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ron Astor ◽  
Rami Benbenishty
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Evaluation ◽  
Student Perception ◽  
The United States ◽  
New Teacher ◽  
Achievement Gains ◽  
Evaluation Systems ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Teacher Evaluation Systems ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
New Teacher Evaluation

Even those who agree with the idea of creating a monitoring system might still need to be convinced that what students have to say should be considered valuable input in the effort to improve schools, whether it pertains to raising academic performance or to safety, security, and behavior. Some argue that students are so disinterested in surveys that they answer randomly or give the first answer that comes to mind. Others are concerned that students respond deliberately in ways intended to harm staff members they do not like. Still others are not sure that students really understand the true meaning of the questions and, therefore, that their answers are not usable. Students, however, are often the best sources of providing detailed information on what is happening in schools and may even provide realistic suggestions on how adults can intervene. Looking at the ways students’ perceptions are already being used in schools can help policymakers and educators see how they can be part of improving school climate. This issue, for example, has been debated in recent years as some states and school districts have moved to include students’ opinions on their experiences in the classroom as one component of new teacher evaluation systems. For example, the Tripod survey,1 developed by Harvard University’s Ron Ferguson, asks students how much they agree with statements such as “My teacher explains diffcult things clearly” and “Our class stays busy and doesn’t waste time.” The Tripod was used as part of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Measures of Effective Teaching project and is being used in districts across the United States, in Canada, and in China. In a 2013 report, Hanover Research reviewed the literature on using student perception surveys in teacher evaluation and professional development: “Given the consistent findings of the research reviewed for this report, it is reasonable to conclude that student perception surveys can provide accurate measures of teacher effectiveness,” they write. “When the proper instrument, or survey, is utilized, student feedback can be more accurate than alternative, more widely- used instruments at predicting achievement gains.

Music Teacher Evaluation and Student Growth in Music

2019 ◽  
pp. 850-869
Author(s):  
Dru Davison ◽  
Ryan Fisher
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Evaluation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Student Growth ◽  
Growth Data ◽  
Evaluation Systems ◽  
Multiple Measures ◽  
Achievement Data ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
Teacher Evaluation Systems ◽  
Student Growth Data

This chapter provides an in-depth analysis of the development and implementation of an alternative student growth measures system specifically designed by arts educators to provide teachers with a fair, flexible, and rigorous method of demonstrating teacher effectiveness as part of a multiple measures teacher evaluation system. We also present a brief overview of the Race to the Top legislation as well as the No Child Left Behind waivers in the United States as they relate to the increased attention to the use of student growth and achievement data in teacher evaluation systems. An overview of the multiple-measures evaluation systems with particular attention to the use of student growth data portion of the multiple measures is also included. The initial guidance from the US Department of Education regarding various approaches of incorporating student growth data in teacher evaluation systems is discussed. Implications for music education are also presented.

Talking to Evaluators

2019 ◽  
pp. 175-200
Author(s):  
Cara Faith Bernard ◽  
Joseph Michael Abramo
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Evaluation ◽  
Professional Growth ◽  
Music Teachers ◽  
Evaluation Process ◽  
Music Educators ◽  
Evaluation Systems ◽  
Teacher Evaluation Systems

This chapter provides strategies for music educators to foster effective dialogue with evaluators and administrators in the teacher evaluation process. First, it describes the key components of teacher evaluation discussions, including the feedback, the rules and procedures required of teacher evaluation systems, and the evaluator’s and music teacher’s expectations and pressures. Second, the chapter provides advice for preparing for meetings, including the types of questions to anticipate and how to tailor answers to those questions depending on different evaluators. Next, it provides a framework for listening to and responding to feedback effectively and constructively during meetings. The chapter concludes with a description of the steps music teachers can take after meetings to spark professional growth and maintain communication with evaluators. These include immediately implementing feedback, reporting the results, and continuing dialogue to further professional growth.

Conceptions of Teacher Effectiveness and Its Implications for Educational Policy and Practice in the United States

2021 ◽  
pp. 245-274
Author(s):  
James H. Stronge ◽  
Xianxuan Xu ◽  
Leslie W. Grant ◽  
Yanping Mo ◽  
Ke Huang
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Teacher Evaluation ◽  
Teacher Effectiveness ◽  
Teaching Effectiveness ◽  
The United States ◽  
Professional Organization ◽  
Educational Systems ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Evaluation Systems ◽  
Teacher Evaluation Systems

This chapter provides an overview of the educational system from the founding of the country to today. Like Australia and Canada, the governmental structure involves the national government with smaller units in the form of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. This structure means variation of educational systems across governmental units. The authors provide an overview of the influence of conceptions of teaching effectiveness including the development of professional organization standards, passing of national legislation aimed at defining teacher effectiveness in terms of student outcomes, and standards-based teacher evaluation systems. Unique features of the United States perspective include a focus on differentiation to include getting to know the needs of individual students and meeting those individual needs. The authors describe the cultural basis for these unique features.

Introduction

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Cara Faith Bernard ◽  
Joseph Michael Abramo
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Evaluation ◽  
Professional Growth ◽  
Music Teachers ◽  
Effective Teacher ◽  
Music Teaching ◽  
Good Teaching ◽  
Negative Experiences ◽  
Evaluation Systems ◽  
Mixed Messages ◽  
Teacher Evaluation Systems

This introduction provides a rationale for why music teachers should engage in teacher evaluation. First, it names some concerns music teachers have with teacher evaluation to help them understand and address these challenges and avoid negative experiences. These include concerns that teacher evaluation systems are applied to teaching in general and are not specific to music; that evaluators often do not have backgrounds in music teaching and therefore do not have the expertise to evaluate music teachers or provide valuable feedback; that music teachers receive mixed messages about what is good teaching from evaluators; and that music teachers do not receive sufficient time and attention from evaluators to implement effective teacher evaluation. To address these frustrations, the introduction provides a rationale for working past them and using teacher evaluation to improve teacher practice and professional growth.

Teacher Evaluation in Music

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cara Faith Bernard ◽  
Joseph Michael Abramo
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Evaluation ◽  
Music Education ◽  
Professional Growth ◽  
Music Teachers ◽  
School Administrators ◽  
The United States ◽  
Pedagogical Strategies ◽  
Questioning Strategies ◽  
Teacher Evaluation Systems ◽  
Age Of Accountability

Facing an “age of accountability,” teachers are subject to increasing evaluation and scrutiny from school administrators, politicians, and the public. This book provides music teachers with strategies to help them thrive in teacher evaluation amid this increased scrutiny. Embedded in educational research and theory and explained using real-world teaching situations, this book helps music teachers find balance between advocating for themselves and remaining open to feedback. The introduction provides background on teacher evaluation systems, including commonly found components and requirements. Chapter 1 details a brief history of teacher evaluation policies and laws in the United States. Chapter 2 provides a framework to help music teachers successfully use teacher evaluation to spark professional growth. Chapters 3 through 6 delve into four key areas that music teachers often struggle with in order to prepare them for observations and discussions with evaluators and improve practice: questioning strategies, differentiation, literacy, and assessment. At the end of each of these chapters are sample lesson plans that demonstrate ways to implement these pedagogical strategies in music classrooms. The final chapter discusses how to talk to evaluators. It explores how music teachers might inform evaluators about the unique challenges and strategies in music education while also remaining open to feedback. It discusses how to talk to both music and non-music evaluators, including those who are poor communicators and those who might not provide sound advice on teaching. Finally, the postlude reminds readers of the importance of approaching teacher evaluation as a means for reflection and professional growth.

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