There are many ways that schools and districts evaluate teachers.
My school does formal teacher evaluations twice a year for new teachers, and
there are several informal observations throughout the year. The two methods I will be looking at are
centered around test scores, but as David (2010)
suggests, “end-of-year test scores do not show how much students learned that
year in that class.” So let’s take a look at those teacher evaluation methods.
Value Added Measures
This strategy compares students’ current scores with past scores. The
Edglossary Website (2013) describes value-added
measures as a method “used to estimate or quantify how
much of a positive (or negative) effect individual teachers have on student
learning during the course of a given school year.” The Edglossary
Website (2013) goes on to say “value-added
measures typically use sophisticated statistical algorithms and standardized-test results, combined with other
information about students, to determine a value-added score for a teacher.”
In other words, students’ current and past test scores are taken into account
to determine how well teachers are teaching their students.
The Good
This is good because it takes continuous changes into account,
rather than one single change. Hull
(2013) says this method recognizes that “not all students are likely to make
the same growth from year to year.” The
teacher can work to improve student scores from prior months and years to show
that the student is learning. In addition, the teacher is aware of the measures
they must beat in order to receive a good evaluation.
The Not-So-Good
Some students freeze up on tests, so any sort of evaluation that
relies too heavily on test results might not be the best measure of student
capability. It doesn’t take enough pieces of teaching life into account, and so
it may not be an accurate measurement of student learning and knowledge. It
also doesn’t take into account student learning disabilities and language barriers
that may cause students to do poorly.
Student Growth Percentiles
The Edglossary Website (2013) says that student-growth measures “compare
the relative change in a student’s performance on a specific test with the
performance of all other students on that same test.” In other words, a student’s
growth is measured against each other student’s growth to see where they rank
on the scale of most to least proficient.
The Good
I agree with Hull (2013), who says this method is “more accurate at evaluating
teachers than student test scores, which capture performance at one point in
time.”
The Not-So-Good
Testing should not be used solely, or even heavily, in a teacher
evaluation. Not only do some students test poorly, there are other students who
test well. They can study the night before, pass the test well, and then
remember nothing of the material they learned. This is another good reason why
this measure isn’t great. Students are all different, with different needs,
likes, and ideas. Any evaluation method that measures student scores against
each other on a standardized test won’t take those differences into account.
My opinion
There are several things I think that administrators should take
into account during an evaluation, and in different percentages.
30% - Standardized tests – The changes in test scores should only
comprise 30% of a teacher’s evaluation because, as I mentioned above, there are
many reasons why a student’s score might be accurately reflected on
standardized tests. For example, some students are very good at testing logic
and guessing, but may not understand the concepts they are expected to know.
10% - Essay – I believe that Essay questions or knowledge reports
should account for 10% because they allow students to show accurate knowledge,
and are far more accurate than multiple choice standardized tests.
30% Random samples of class work – Random samples of work done by
students can truly illustrate student learning, so if these samples account for
roughly 1/3 of the teacher’s evaluation, it would help administrators
understand what the class really knows and what sort of work they really do on
a day-to-day basis.
30% Classroom evaluations and lesson plans – There should be
several evaluations, both formal and informal, and along with the teacher’s
lesson plans, these should account for the remaining 30% of a teacher’s
evaluation.
I think this would give a well-rounded view of what teachers are
teaching and how much of it students are learning and internalizing.
Resources
David, J.,
(2010). What Research Says About… / Using Value-Added Measures to Evaluate
Teachers. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational_leadership/may10/vol67/num08/Using_Value-Added_Measures_to_Evaluate_Teachers.aspx
Diaz-Bilello,
E., & Briggs, D., C., (July 2014). Using Student Growth Percentiles for Educator
Evaluations at the Teacher Level: Key Issues and Technical Considerations for
School Districts in Colorado. Retrieved from https://www.cde.state.co.us/educatoreffectiveness/usingstudentgrowthpercentilesforee
Edglossary Website, (Aug 29, 2013). VALUE-ADDED MEASURES.
Retrieved from http://edglossary.org/value-added-measures/
Hull, J., (Oct, 2013) Trends In Teacher Evaluation: How states are
measuring teacher performance. Retrieved from http://www.centerforpubliceducation.org/Main-Menu/Evaluating-performance/Trends-in-Teacher-Evaluation-At-A-Glance/Trends-in-Teacher-Evaluation-Full-Report-PDF.pdf
