Teacher Evaluation and Teacher Effectiveness in the United Kingdom

An outline is given of the UK research situation for the knowledge bases of school effectiveness and teacher effectiveness, and the UK policy situation in terms of school and teacher evaluation, improvement and development. It is argued that the UK has seen a much greater use of school-level policies, reflecting its substantial school effectiveness research base, rather than teacher-level interventions, although there are currently some attempts at policy and practice level to focus upon teacher effects, teacher evaluation and related issues of professional development. Speculations are given concerning future policy and research needs.     

Teacher Evaluation, Teacher Effectiveness and School Effectiveness: Perspectives from the USA

This article provides historical overviews of the conceptual and research and development focus of teacher evaluation, teacher effectiveness and school effectiveness research in the USA. Pertinent literature is cited and arguments are made that these lines of inquiry have coexisted for nearly four without adequate integration. With the fourth stage of school effectiveness research in process, there is a recognition that within school context variables, particularly teacher effectiveness, have important effects on school improvement and school outcomes. Similarly, there is the recognition that findings from school effectiveness research have relevance for studies of teacher effectiveness and ongoing developments in teacher evaluation. Examples of: (a) new generation, learner-centered teacher evaluation systems in the USA that are informed by teacher and school effectiveness research; and (b) the fourth stage of school effectiveness research are described. It is proposed that these lines of research should be merged as completely as possible.     

The Impact of a High Stakes Teacher Evaluation System: Educator Perspectives on Accountability

The use of student achievement data to evaluate an individual teacher's effectiveness has become a new focus in educational policy. This article focuses on the underresearched teacher perception of this new policy measure. Drawing on ethnographic research procedures, this article explores how first-grade teachers in one state navigated a new high-stakes teacher evaluation system. Although the results indicate that teachers have a desire for accountability, findings also show a variety of beliefs on the validity of teacher evaluation, as well as differing applications of scoring measures across school contexts.     

Development and exemplification of a model for Teacher Assessment in Primary Science

ABSTRACT

The Teacher Assessment in Primary Science project is funded by the Primary Science Teaching Trust and based at Bath Spa University. The study aims to develop a whole-school model of valid, reliable and manageable teacher assessment to inform practice and make a positive impact on primary-aged children’s learning in science. The model is based on a data-flow ‘pyramid’ (analogous to the flow of energy through an ecosystem), whereby the rich formative assessment evidence gathered in the classroom is summarised for monitoring, reporting and evaluation purposes [Nuffield Foundation. (2012). Developing policy, principles and practice in primary school science assessment. London: Nuffield Foundation]. Using a design-based research (DBR) methodology, the authors worked in collaboration with teachers from project schools and other expert groups to refine, elaborate, validate and operationalise the data-flow ‘pyramid’ model, resulting in the development of a whole-school self-evaluation tool. In this paper, we argue that a DBR approach to theory-building and school improvement drawing upon teacher expertise has led to the identification, adaptation and successful scaling up of a promising approach to school self-evaluation in relation to assessment in science.     

Teacher Evaluation in The Netherlands and its Relationship to Educational Effectiveness Research

In this article, we describe the history, current practice and future of teacher evaluation in The Netherlands. After a short introduction describing the Dutch educational system, we present information about teacher evaluation practices performed by persons outside the school (the Inspectorate) and inside the school (the principal). We then pay attention to the progress of teacher and school effectiveness research in The Netherlands and the relatively weak links between research and evaluation practices in schools. Finally, we outline some potential future developments in the field of teacher evaluation in The Netherlands.     

Differential Teacher Effectiveness: Towards a model for research and teacher appraisal

The article reviews the research on teacher effectiveness and develops the case for a model of teacher effectiveness in which differential effectiveness is incorporated. Five problems with current concepts of teacher effectiveness are identified: undue influence of available techniques upon the concept; emphasis on school, to the detriment of teacher, effectiveness; tenuous relationship to teacher improvement; narrowness of operational definitions in research; and the development of generic, rather than differentiated, models. In addition the failure of existing models to explain variance in pupil outcome at the classroom level, the neglect of teacher self-evaluation, and the restricted measures of pupil outcomes are noted. A differential model is proposed incorporating five dimensions of difference. These refer to teacher activity, outside as well as inside the classroom; curriculum subject; pupil background factors; pupil personal characteristics; cultural and organisational contexts of teaching. The developmental functions of such a model for research and for teacher appraisal are explored. Four problems for implementing a differentiated model are raised: complexity, stakeholder expectations, values, and policy acceptability. These are considered in the light of the controversial Hay McBer model in England and of models developed in Europe and the USA in the early decades of the last century.     

Student Achievement and School and Teacher Accountability

This article is part of a set of papers generated from a keynote presentation by Dr. Jack Frymier at the 1997 CREATE annual meeting. Dr. Frymier dealt with several reasons, that, as he saw it, invalidate the use of student achievement data in teacher accountability systems. This article first notes problems with Dr. Frymier's conception of accountability. Next, it summarizes some of the recent evidence showing the strong connection between school and teacher effectiveness measures and student achievement. It then notes some of the benefits of school and teacher effectiveness measures external to their function as measures of performance. Next, policy issues arising from the use of student data and the associated research are considered. Finally, it concludes with some cautions about using effectiveness measures in teacher accountability systems.     

Teacher Evaluation, Leadership and Learning Organizations

This article presents the argument that meaningful teacher evaluation in schools can be an important catalyst for organizational learning and school improvement when it is linked to broader conceptions of leadership in schools. A state-of-the-art teacher evaluation, assessment and professional growth system is described and the manner in which this system is linked to leadership density, organizational learning, and school improvement is detailed. Findings from two contrasting case studies of schools implementing this new system are presented and implications of the findings for linking teacher evaluation systems, newer conceptions of school leadership, and school improvement are described.     

以评促建:构建教师发展学校建设长效机制的路径——浙江省的经验与反思

科学有效的评价体系可为教师发展学校建设提供目标与动力,以评促建是构建教师发展学校建设长效机制的有效路径.浙江省通过政府部门、高校与中小学多元主体的协同合作,在标准化评价指标的指导下,以自评与他评相结合的方式,对教师发展学校的协同合作、组织管理、资源保障、课程建设几方面进行评价,在以评促建方面积累了诸多经验.但其中也逐渐暴露出一些问题,如第三方评价对评价结果客观性的消极影响、评价工具不够完善、评价内容不够全面、评价过程过于烦琐和不够深入等问题.未来可从完善第三方评价、改良评价工具、丰富评价内容、优化评价方式等方面着手,推动教师发展学校长效运行.     

学校效能增值评量研究

改进学校和学生评价的方法是提高教育质量的关键杠杆。研究发现,增值评量普遍被认为可在评价中国教育质量上提供一种有效且相关的度量,这一结论与其他国家,譬如英国的有关研究结果相类似。在中国现有的学校和教师评价体系中,增值评量的概念与其测量的方法被视为是一种较为科学且受欢迎的评价方法。在运用任何新的评价体系时,需要考虑到地方情境以及优先考虑事项。增值评量法是否可在公共问责体制的框架下,为学校效能评价体系提供一种最有用或最适当的方法,向学校提供保密性反馈信息,提高学校自我评价与改进的能力,值得讨论。     

Generating Criteria for Measuring Teacher Effectiveness Through a Self-Evaluation Approach: A Complementary Way of Measuring Teacher Effectiveness

The article argues that the traditional conception of teacher effectiveness, focused on the teaching performance of individual teachers in relation to student cognitive outcomes, has limitations primarily because it does not recognise broader roles and responsibilities. A case study of a primary school staff attempting to generate criteria for effectiveness was conducted in order to develop a complementary approach. The criteria generated cover most of the characteristics of the effective teacher in the literature. Also the criteria generated in the case study school correlated strongly with those of a nationally representative sample. Implications for teacher effectiveness research are drawn.     

Changing Research Contexts in Teacher Education in Australia: Charting new directions

This paper examines research into initial teacher education in light of current Australian policy initiatives concerned with both the quality of research conducted in higher education and the quality of teacher education programs. The purpose of the paper is to explore some ways in which the research is, and can be, positioned in the current policy context. The paper begins with a brief overview of some of the main characteristics of the research concerned with initial (pre‐service) teacher education in Australia over the last decade. In terms of scope, scale and methodology, the research can be characterised in the following way: typically small‐scale; many one‐off studies; localised in nature; and a growing application of qualitative research methods. An obvious strength of this type of research is that it is closely tied to practice and to the day‐to‐day workings of initial teacher education programs. An equally obvious weakness is that the research does not necessarily have so called ‘impact’ in relation to policy debates and/or other measures of success in the wider research community. The paper charts some possible new directions for teacher education research in ways that build on the strengths and address the weaknesses. The directions can be characterised as follows: a ‘big funding’ approach; an ‘institutional aggregation’ approach; and a ‘platforms and protocols’ approach.     

Teacher evaluation in China: latest trends and future directions

With the implementation of teacher performance pay in 2009 in China, teacher performance evaluation has become a heated topic. This research study follows up on two previous studies of teacher evaluation in China and continues the dialog by analyzing the latest trends in the context of teacher performance pay. There were two sources of information for this article: academic journal articles and teacher evaluation practices of two schools from Beijing. Seven themes were derived from a content analysis of the academic journal articles: (a) studies on teacher evaluation within the context of curriculum reform, (b) methods of teacher evaluation, (c) studies of miscellaneous responses, (d) studies on developmental teacher evaluation, (e) studies on teacher performance evaluation, (f) studies on teacher effectiveness, and (g) philosophical thoughts of teacher evaluation. The two cases of teacher evaluation practices revealed some changes since the implementation of teacher performance pay, such as a more comprehensive teacher evaluation system.     

Teachers'' Perceptions of a Learner-Centered Teacher Evaluation System

Promoting success for all students is the driving force to develop and implement sound teacher evaluation systems. As Stronge suggests, the two most frequently cited purposes of personnel evaluation are accountability and performance improvement (1997, p. 3). As a result, researchers are conceiving of teacher evaluation as a mechanism for improving teaching and learning (Danielson and McGreal, 2000). On the other hand, others affirm that the trend in teacher evaluation is toward more self-evaluation and expanding one's teaching repertoire (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1999, p. 8). However, teachers' voices relative to emerging teacher evaluation trends are missing. Thus, this study explored teachers' perceptions about the support for professional development available to them, the perceived potential benefits of a learner-centered teacher evaluation system to enhance their professional growth, and pitfalls. Only elementary school teachers participated in the study. The researcher analyzed teachers' written responses to open-ended questions, and generated categories by emerging themes to determine teachers' perceptions.Findings of the study suggest that teachers receive support from both campus level and central office level. Teachers also believe that a learner-centered teacher evaluation fosters walk-through observations, opportunities for professional growth, feedback, learner-centered dialogue, a holistic perspective, and teacher self-evaluation. On the other hand, findings suggest that teachers question the labels for each level of performance, and are concerned that the system might be somewhat subjective. Finally, suggestions are made to conduct additional studies to further illuminate teachers' voices associated with teacher evaluation and development at other school levels, and to expand our understanding of emerging teacher evaluation formats which aim at student success.     

Teacher evaluation in Portugal: persisting challenges and perceived effects

This paper reports on findings from a broader piece of research aimed at investigating the ways in which head teachers experience a new teacher evaluation policy in Portugal, particularly in regard to the challenges and perceived effects of the policy on school and on teacher development. Data were collected through a questionnaire with open and closed-ended questions. In total, 134 head teachers participated in the study. Findings suggest a number of tensions and problems, most of which are related to the key features of the model of teacher evaluation itself. Others issues pertain to the lack of recognition of the appraisers and to the emergence of tensions amongst staff leading to the deterioration of the school climate. Persisting challenges to policy implementation, perceived effects on teachers and schools as well as the dilemmas of head teachers are analysed. The article concludes with the discussion of ways forward.     

西方国家教师效能研究发展述评

教师效能是教师特质、能力与行为的综合体。一直以来,研究者对教师效能的内涵存有争议,并形成了不同的研究范式,包括教师特质研究、教学行为研究、教师效能比较研究和教师效能多元研究。教师效能的评价主要涉及评价模型、评价体系、评价方法三个方面。教师效能的影响因素则从教师个性特征、教学过程以及从教师认同的视角进行探讨。教师效能具有复杂性、动态性、差异性和层级性,建构不同的教师效能评价模型,根据学生的分组归类,或根据具体学科和教学情境,或根据教师的进步程度评价教师效能,从而促进教师专业发展,是教师效能研究的发展方向。     

Classroom teacher effectiveness research and inquiry,and its relevance to the development of public education policy: an Australian context

This paper has as its focus an analysis of the question and problem of classroom teacher effectiveness research and inquiry. It presents an examination of what counts as valid and worthwhile research in classroom teacher effectiveness studies for the development of education policy within an Australian context, the State of Victoria. The Government’s Blueprint, the major education policy document of the Victorian State Labour Government, outlines its educational approach. Important and core features of government direction for education policy include a focus on social and economic disadvantage. A priority for the Victorian State Labour Government is tangible and measurable improvement in the performance of the public education system. A particular concern is the problem of academic underperformance within public schools, particularly those designated as low-performing and situated in socially and economically disadvantaged communities. Building the capacity of the State’s teacher workforce forms a key component of the Blueprint, and State Government direction in public education. The paper utilises a qualitative theoretical framework. Eight education policy actor/participants were interviewed and their responses analysed using a critical discourse approach. The main findings indicate that education policy actors advocate a strong belief in particular forms of evidence-based research for the development of education policy in the area of classroom teacher effectiveness.     

韩国中小学教师评价政策的调整

本文在揭示韩国旧有教师评价政策问题的基础上,分析了政策调整过程中教师评价相关利益集团的不同态度和争论,最后描述了政策调整后的方案内容,并对政策试行的预期效果作出了预测.     

School principals’ views of teacher evaluation policy: lessons learned from two empirical studies

Teacher evaluation accountability policies are emerging worldwide. This study examines principals’ perceptions of teacher evaluation in terms of commonalities and differences arising from two research projects conducted in Portugal and in the US. Perceptions of school principals in regard to a new policy on teacher evaluation as well as its perceived effects at school and conditions for its implementation will be analysed. Findings point to the challenges and successes of coping with mandated accountability measures in two different contexts. Principals balanced perceived conflicting goals, sought maintenance of positive teacher relationships and school culture and managed the tensions of policy implementation and the making sense of its effects at school. Implications of the findings are discussed.