scholarly journals A Phenomenological Exploration of How Public School Administrators Balance Teacher Evaluation and Support of Teacher Growth

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Slattery

<p>Educational reform efforts over the past several decades have focused on different ways to address student achievement. Since the quality of the teacher that students have is one of the biggest in-school factors that impact student achievement, schools have focused on identifying, measuring, and improving teacher quality. Some of those reform efforts have focused their attention on teacher evaluation as a way of increasing student achievement. There has been much research on the components quality evaluation tools. There is also research on ways to impact and change teacher practice. Unfortunately most evaluation tools do not impact teaching practice. Rhode Island administrators are current facing the challenge of implementing a high stakes evaluation system while also finding ways to help support growth and development of their teachers. This phenomenological study used open-ended interviews to understand how six administrators in Rhode Island negotiate that complexity. Administrators interviewed emphasized the importance of developing a trusting positive climate and utilizing this climate, along with various components of the evaluation system, to provide teachers with the kinds of support that will impact teacher growth and practice in the classroom. Administrators also expressed their frustration at some of the elements of the evaluation system and limitations they have found in their ability to impact teacher change. Findings from this study have implications for those revising or creating educator evaluation systems, as well as for administrators who must use high stakes evaluation systems while simultaneously attempting to impact teacher growth, development and change in practice.</p>

Author(s):  
Noelle A Paufler

Since the adoption of teacher evaluation systems that rely, at least in part, on controversial student achievement measures, little research has been conducted that focuses on stakeholders’ perceptions of systems in practice, specifically the perceptions of school principals. This study was conducted in a large urban school district to better understand principals’ perceptions of evaluating teachers based on professional and instructional practices as well as student achievement (i.e., value-added scores). Principals in this study strongly expressed concerns regarding: (a) the negative impact of the teacher evaluation system on district culture and morale; (b) their lack of autonomy in evaluating teachers and making staffing decisions; and (c) their perceived lack of value as professionals in the district. Examining the implications of teacher evaluation systems, per the experiences of principals as practitioners, is increasingly important if state and local policymakers as well as the general public are to better understand the intended and unintended consequences of these systems in practice.


2019 ◽  
pp. 1-51
Author(s):  
Aaron R. Phipps ◽  
Emily A. Wiseman

Teacher evaluation systems that use in-class observations, particularly in high-stakes settings, are frequently understood as accountability systems intended as non-intrusive measures of teacher quality. Presumably, the evaluation system motivates teachers to improve their practice – an accountability mechanism – and provides actionable feedback for improvement – an information mechanism. No evidence exists, however, establishing the causal link between an evaluation program and daily teacher practices. Importantly, it is unknown how teachers may modify their practice in the time leading up to an unannounced in-class observation, or how they integrate feedback into their practice post-evaluation, a question that fundamentally changes the design and philosophy of teacher evaluation programs. We disentangle these two effects with a unique empirical strategy that exploits random variation in the timing of in-class observations in the Washington, D.C. teacher evaluation program IMPACT. Our key finding is that teachers work to improve during periods in which they are more likely to be observed, and they improve with subsequent evaluations. We interpret this as evidence that both mechanisms are at work, and as a result, policymakers should seriously consider both when designing teacher evaluation systems.


AERA Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 233285842093223
Author(s):  
Jessalynn James ◽  
James H. Wyckoff

Teacher turnover is an enduring concern in education policy and can incur substantial costs to students. Policies often address turnover broadly, yet effects turn on net differences in the effectiveness of exiting and entering teachers, in addition to the disruption dealt to classrooms. Recent research has shown mixed effects of teacher evaluation policies, but even where evaluation-induced differential turnover initially benefited students, gains might disappear or reverse as the stock of less effective teachers exits and if more effective teachers view high-stakes evaluation as burdensome. We examine evaluation–induced changes to the composition of exiting and entering teachers in Washington, D.C., the net effect of turnover on student achievement, and the role that evaluation played in teacher turnover. We find that turnover continues to improve teaching skills and student achievement, although effects have diminished. We find little evidence that high-performing teachers’ exit is associated with the evaluation system.


2019 ◽  
Vol 56 (6) ◽  
pp. 2116-2146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sy Doan ◽  
Jonathan D. Schweig ◽  
Kata Mihaly

Contemporary teacher evaluation systems use multiple measures of performance to construct ratings of teacher quality. While the properties of constituent measures have been studied, little is known about whether composite ratings themselves are sufficiently reliable to support high-stakes decision making. We address this gap by estimating the consistency of composite ratings of teacher quality from New Mexico’s teacher evaluation system from 2015 to 2016. We estimate that roughly 40% of teachers would receive a different composite rating if reevaluated in the same year; 97% of teachers would receive ratings within ±1 level of their original rating. We discuss mechanisms by which policymakers can improve rating consistency, and the implications of those changes to other properties of teacher evaluation systems.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 211
Author(s):  
Lia Mega Sari

Islamic education is used as an ideal goal to be achieved in programs and processes in Islamic products or Islamic educational outputs, and to find out the achievements made by the evaluation activities. With evaluation, it can be called or called the level of progress. But the system used for education is the same as the evaluation system used by general education. Therefore the writer will discuss about evaluation in Islamic education that can be found if it is in it. In this discussion the author uses literature studies to be able to understand education in Islam, the author seeks various references both primary and secondary about studies in Islamic education. The result of this experiment is that the evaluation applied in Islamic education is different from that in general education. That is, if in Islamic education objects that are valued or discussed by students are not just things related to science, nor are they related to religious behavior alone; But the balance between the two. Students are evaluated about religious, social, scientific level, skills and so on. While evaluation in general education is not related to evaluating religious behavior, but the morals are only focused on knowledge, skills or matters relating to student achievement.


2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 418-434 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean Corcoran ◽  
Dan Goldhaber

In this policy brief we argue that there is little debate about the statistical properties of value-added model (VAM) estimates of teacher performance, yet, despite this, there is little consensus about what the evidence about VAMs implies for their practical utility as part of high-stakes performance evaluation systems. A review of the evidence base that underlies the debate over VAM measures, followed by our subjective opinions about the value of using VAMs, illustrates how different policy conclusions can easily arise even given a high-level general agreement about an existing body of evidence. We conclude the brief by offering a few thoughts about the limits of our knowledge and what that means for those who do wish to integrate VAMs into their own teacher-evaluation strategy.


2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 363-394 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire Robertson-Kraft ◽  
Rosaline S. Zhang

A growing body of research examines the impact of recent teacher evaluation systems; however, we have limited knowledge on how these systems influence teacher retention. This study uses a mixed-methods design to examine teacher retention patterns during the pilot year of an evaluation system in an urban school district in Texas. We used difference-in-differences analysis to examine the impact of the new system on school-level teacher turnover and administered a teacher survey ( N = 1,301) to investigate individual and school-level factors influencing retention. This quantitative analysis was supplemented with interview data from two case study schools. Results suggest that, overall, the new evaluation system did not have a significant effect on teacher retention, but there was significant variation at the individual and school level. This study has important implications for policymakers developing new evaluation systems and researchers interested in evaluating their impact on retention.


Author(s):  
Maria Iaci Pequeno

Focaliza a avaliação educacional no Estado do Ceará, desde as primeiras experiências no fim da década de 70 até a institucionalização do sistema próprio de avaliação do Estado, denominado Sistema Permanente de Avaliação da Educação Básica do Ceará (Spaece). Enfatiza os procedimentos metodológicos adotados nesse sistema de avaliação, bem como alguns resultados e o uso pelas audiências principais. Apresenta, finalmente, reflexões e lições que foram extraídas dessas experiências que possam servir de balizamento para outros sistemas similares de avaliação. Palavras-chave: sistema de avaliação; rendimento escolar; uso de avaliações. Abstract This paper describes educational evaluation in the State of Ceará, from the first experiences at the end of the seventies, to the institutionalization of the State's own evaluation system, called Sistema Permanente de Avaliação da Educação Básica (Spaece). The paper emphasizes the methodological procedures used in the evaluation system, as well as some of the results and its use by the main audiences. The paper also presents thoughts and lessons issued from these experiences that may be useful for other evaluation systems. Keywords: evaluation system, academic performance, use of evaluations.


2020 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
pp. 63
Author(s):  
Timothy G. Ford ◽  
Kim Hewitt

In current teacher evaluation systems, the two main purposes of evaluation—accountability/goal accomplishment (summative) and professional growth/improvement (formative)—are often at odds with one another. However, they are not only compatible, but linking them within a unified teacher evaluation system may, in fact, be desirable. The challenge of the next generation of teacher evaluation systems will be to better integrate these two purposes in policy and practice. In this paper, we integrate the frameworks of Self-determination theory and Stronge’s Improvement-Oriented Model for Performance Evaluation. We use this integrated framework to critically examine teacher evaluation policy in Hawaii and Washington, D.C.—two distinctly different approaches to teacher evaluation—for the purposes of identifying a set of clear recommendations for improving the design and implementation of teacher evaluation policy moving forward.


Author(s):  
Richard L. Dodson

This research examines how public school principals in eight U.S. states perceive their teacher evaluation systems which are based on Charlotte Danielson’s Framework for Teaching (FfT).  States were selected to represent high, middle, and low scorers in the annual Education Week “Quality Counts” report (Education Week, 2016).  1,142 out of over 8,100 working principals in the eight states responded to an online survey, yielding a response rate of over 14%.  Most principals were not satisfied with FfT and found implementing the system too cumbersome.  Responses suggested an average of two changes to FfT desired by each principal; few wanted to keep their FfT as is.  Targets for improvement included overhauling software used to enter teacher evaluations; eliminating student growth goals and student test scores (VAMs) as part of evaluations; reducing the time and paperwork required; and wanting more training for administrators and teachers on the use of FfT.  Some states’ principals wanted to return control over teacher evaluation systems to local school districts.  Most respondents agreed that their version of FfT has improved their school’s instructional program, and they prefer the new instrument over their previous evaluation instrument.


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