Teacher Evaluations

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