There are many concerns that teachers have about rules and regulations in education. Depending upon the teachers’ focus areas, they might be worried about the development of special education; if their primary focus is athletics, they are concerned about pass / play; if a teacher is in charge of an organization that is in need of extra funds, they are worried about the new rules concerning fundraising that view raffles as gambling. All in all, they all have legitimate concerns. The new teacher evaluation system, however, seems to be the most relevant, pressing concern. The state’s new evaluation system was in response to administrators who produced, “superficial and capricious teacher evaluation systems that often don't even directly address the quality of instruction, much less measure students' learning” (Toch, 2008). Too often, the “good-ol-boy” attitude would insure mediocre educators would remain employed. Realizing this was often more the rule then the exception, the governor created educational mandates to focus, “on supporting and training effective teachers to drive student achievement” (Marzano Center, 2013). Initially, they expected the school districts and the teachers would have issues and experience growing pains, but in the end the goal was, “to improve teacher performance, year by year, with a corresponding rise in student achievement” (Marzano Center, 2013). Initially, the teachers interviewed were concerned about then new evaluation system – especially after being flogged by negative, media induced hysteria that stated, “SBA and other test scores are used to measure student achievement growth under PED’s model and are supposed to count for 50 percent of the overall evaluation” [emphasis added] (Last, 2013... ... middle of paper ... ...lltext/ED543776.pdf Marzano Center - New Mexico Education Reform. (n.d.). Marzano Center - New Mexico Education Reform. Retrieved November 10, 2013, from http://www.marzanocenter.com/my-state/New-mexico-education-reform/ Skandera, H. (2013). NM state regional training ppt. Retrieved from ped.state.nm: http://ped.state.nm.us/ped/NMTeachIndex.html Teachers Matter: understanding teachers' impact on student achievement. (n.d.). RAND Corporation Provides Objective Research Services and Public Policy Analysis. Retrieved November 9, 2013, from http://www.rand.org/education/projects/measuring-teacher-effectiveness/teachers-matter.html Toch, T. (n.d.). Membership. educational leadership :expecting excellence: fixing teacher evaluation. Retrieved November 8, 2013, from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/oct08/vol66/num02/Fixing-Teacher-Evaluation.aspx
In 2010, Charlotte Danielson wrote an article, “Evaluations That Help Teachers”, for the magazine The Effective Educator. The purpose of this article was to explain how a teacher evaluation system, such as her own Framework for Teaching, should and can actually foster teacher learning rather than just measure teacher competence, which is what most other teacher evaluation systems do. This topic is especially critical to decision-making school leaders. Many of the popular teacher evaluation systems fail to help schools link teacher performance with meaningful opportunities for the teachers to reflect on and learn from in order to grow professionally. With the increased attention on the need for more rigorous student standards, this then is an enormous opportunity missed. Students can only achieve such rigorous expectations if their teachers can effectively teach them, and research has shown that teachers who are evaluated by systems that hold them to accountability and provide them for continuous support and growth will actually teach more effectively.
Charlotte Danielson, an internationally recognized expert in the area of teacher effectiveness, created The Framework for Teaching, which is comprised of four domains of teaching responsibility (Danielson, 1996). Danielson specializes in the design of teacher evaluation to ensure teacher quality and to promote professional learning. Danielson’s framework is based on large amounts of research, including the Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) project, supported by the Gates Foundation (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, 2013). Danielson’s framework also aligns with the Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (InTASC), which outlines what a beginner teacher should possess in skills. In addition, it is the underlying set of ideas
The United States of America has placed low on the educational ladder throughout the years. The cause of such a low ranking is due to such heavy emphasis on standardized testing and not individual student achievement. Although the United States uses standardized testing as a crutch, it is not an effective measure of a student’s ability, a teacher’s competency, or a school’s proficiency.
Laura states that the number one source for the successes of our school children, is “the quality of the teachers instructing them”. She supports the IMPACT
The Federal definition of a “highly qualified teacher” requires the teacher to have certification for the State, having passed licensing exams. An elementary school teacher who is new to the field is required to have a minimum of a bachelor’s degree, has passed State testing, subject knowledge and skills in reading, writing mathematics and other areas of basic elementary school curriculum. A middle or secondary school teacher who is new to the field has the same requirements; however they must also demonstrate high levels of competency in each of the academic subjects they intend to teach. Academic standards have been established for each state. The idea is to prepare students for college and “the real world”. This also creates an accountability system that recognizes student growth and school progress (ESEA Reauthorization, 2010).
Several of the major reform initiatives of the 1980s and early 1990s argued that improving education requires improving teacher quality and, accordingly, teacher education. Numerous changes in teacher recruitment, preparation, and certification were proposed. (For a detailed list, see Hartley, Mantle-Bromley, and Cobb 1996.) In response to the calls for reform, general teacher education programs raised admission standards/exit requirements; revised curricula to reflect multiculturalism and new K-12 standards; paid more attention to pedagogy, teaching practice, and relevance; included clinical experiences in public schools and other learning environments; and proposed new model standards/principles for licensing beginning teachers (Lynch 1997).
Besharov, Douglas. "Teachers Performance: A Review ." Journal of Policy Analyis and Management (2006): 1-41.
Teachers: What Do We Really Know? Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness , 2 (3), 209-249.
The literature reviewed examined effective evaluation of the low-incidence teacher and the current evaluation tool Kentucky implements for teacher evaluations. The literature indicated that evaluative feedback for educators is critical for teacher development and student growth. In order for an evaluation to be effective, it must measure evidence-based practices, as well as provide actionable feedback to guide professional development. A knowledgeable evaluator, i.e. principal, assistant principal, counselor, or other school administration, must conduct effective teacher evaluations. The focus of this study is to examine the perspectives of low-incidence teachers and administrators on the effectiveness of the current observation tool implemented
Principals have a lot on their job descriptions. One of those tasks principals must do is evaluate teachers. Some principals are good at doing this, while others are not so great because they lack the experience or put it off towards the end of their ever-growing list of tasks they must complete. In order for principals to make this a priority, they must do trainings related to teacher evaluations. I think school district need to do a better job at training school leaders get the proper training and use teacher evaluations to benefit both the teachers and students.
Columnist, Guest. "Test Scores and Teacher Competency." The Oregonian. Oregonlive.com, 4 Feb. 2010. Web. 18 Jan. 2014.
Teacher quality is the most important issue when dealing with how effective a classroom will ...
But as long as we use them only as a means to rank schools and students, we will miss their most powerful benefits. We must focus instead on helping teachers change the way they use assessment results, improve the quality of their classroom assessments, and align their assessments with valued learning goals and state or district standards. When teachers' classroom assessments become an integral part of the instructional process and a central ingredient in their efforts to help students learn, the benefits of assessment for both students and teachers will be
Teachers cannot be expected to excel in their field if they are not provided the tools needed to excel. The 29th annual MetLife Survey of the American Teacher concluded that 62 percent of teachers report they felt
Furthermore, there should be higher levels of evaluation for new teachers, and less tests. Different methods of evaluation are needed other than written tests from books; because "everyone can read a textbook