teachers’ perspectives on evaluation reform
TRANSCRIPT
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Teachers Perspectives on
Evaluation ReformMorgaen L. Donaldson December 2012
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Teachers Perspectives onEvaluation Reform
Morgaen L. Donaldson December 2012
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1 Introduction and summary
7 Teacher evaluation: An overview
9 Study setting
13 Study methodology
15 Study findings
27 Reported influence on teachers practice
33 Limited impact on pedagogy
37 Recommendations
31 Conclusion
43 About the author and acknowledgements
45 Endnotes
Contents
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Introduction and summary | www.americanprogress.
Introduction and summary
O all school acorsrom exended learning opporuniies o amily and com-
muniy engagemen o smaller class sizeseachers exer he larges impac on
suden achievemen.1 Wha was once ervenly believed by praciioners and
parens bu quesioned by researchers is now a well-esablished ac: eachers
make a crucial dierence in sudens academic perormance. Despie his realiy,
eors o improve eacher qualiy hrough perormance evaluaion have made
litle ground. Te consequences o evaluaion have generally been negligible in
erms o eachers insrucional improvemen or coninued employmen. Tereis scan evidence ha evaluaion has improved he qualiy o eachers classroom
insrucion or led o he dismissal o underperorming eachers.2
Despie is less han sellar rack record, eacher evaluaion has aken cener sage
in recen eors o reorm public schools in he Unied Saes. In he Obama
adminisraions 2009 Race o he op compeiive gran program, or example,
he ederal governmen avored saes ha permited he use o suden es scores
in eacher evaluaions. In shor order, 17 saes changed heir laws o permi or
require he inclusion o such daa in 2009 or 2010, wih eigh more ollowing sui
in 2011.3 In addiion o rying o increase eacher accounabiliy wihin eacher
evaluaion, policymakers have ried o bolser he insrucional improvemen
aspec o eacher evaluaion. I is clear ha many disrics and saes will incorpo-
rae no only suden achievemen bu also increased coaching in eacher evalua-
ion in he coming years.
Despie growing momenum o reorm eacher evaluaion in order o increase is
impac on eachers pracice and persisence in he proession, very litle research
examines how curren reorms inuence eachers atiudes or repored insruc-
ional pracices. Do he new evaluaion sysems lead o enhancemens in eachersinsrucion overall? And are here real consequencespenaliesor persisenly
underperorming eachers? Are here rewards or hose whose insrucion is con-
sisenly ousanding?
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2 Center or American Progress | Teacher s Perspectives on Eval uati on Reorm
o answer hese and oher quesions relaed o eacher evaluaion, we conduced a
small-scale sudy ha sough o provide evidence o inorm he debae among poli-
cymakers on how eacher evaluaion should be changed o yield he greaes impac.
Tis repor provides ndings based on a sudy conduced in one norheasern,
urban, and medium-sized school disric, which we will call Sudyville o mainaincondenialiy. A leader in eacher-evaluaion reorm, Sudyville4 implemened
a new sysem in 2010he eacher Evaluaion Program, or EP, which evalu-
aes eachers based on heir sudens growh on academic perormance measures
and more convenional observaion-based daa. Tis repor presens he views o
eachers on he disrics evaluaion reorm and he exen o which i has aeced
heir insrucional pracice. I is based on inerviews conduced wih 92 educaors,
including eachers and school leaders during he 20112012 school year, which was
he evaluaion programs second year o exisence. Tis repor ocuses on how he
experiences and views o eachers diered according o heir evaluaion raingra-
ings which ranged rom a low o 1 (needs improvemen) o a high o 5 (exemplary).
In general he eachers in his sudy viewed he disrics new eacher-evaluaion
program more posiively han negaively, alhough a subsanial minoriy o each-
ers said ha hey would no recommend he evaluaion program o oher school
disrics, ciing concerns ranging rom airness o eedback. Te main ndings
rom his sudy include he ollowing:
eachers were mos posiive abou he opporuniy o se heir own goals and
work oward hem
eachers assered ha evaluaion reorm was necessary
eachers preerred creaing heir own evaluaion sysem raher han having one
imposed on hem
eachers expressed mixed views abou wheher he disrics eacher evaluaion
program is air
eachers expressed mixed views abou wheher he evaluaion program is objecive
eachers wih he highes perormance raing based on he new evaluaion sys-
em ended o express posiive or neural opinions abou he program
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Introduction and summary | www.americanprogress.
eachers wih he lowes perormance raing were more likely o express nega-
ive opinions abou he eacher evaluaion program
Te sudy also ound ha a large majoriy o eachers said he eacher-evaluaion
program did no generally aec heir pedagogy bu ha many said i did aec
heir planning and overall approach o eaching. Te mos consisenly reporedimpacs o he evaluaion program were relaed o is goal-seting componen and,
in paricular, he use o suden perormance daa in he goals.
Tere is much less repored impac relaed o eedback on insrucional pracice.
eachers did no repor changing heir insrucional pracices as a resul o evalu-
aions. In general eachers noed ha hey did no receive argeed eedback, more
observaions, or suggesions on how o each dierenly hrough he program.
eachers wih lower perormance raings were more likely o say ha he evalu-
aion program aeced heir insrucion. Tey were also more likely o say ha iaeced heir approach o planning and preparaion.
Tese ndings poin o he ollowing policy and pracice recommendaions:5
Hold teachers accountable for student performance. Holding eachers accoun-
able or growh in suden perormance, wih real consequences or achieving or
ailing o achieve heir suden perormance goals, seemed o produce demon-
srable changes in eacher behavior. Policymakers have in many cases made
suden perormance a cenral aspec o eacher evaluaion. Tis sudy suggess
ha weighing suden perormance heavily in eacher evaluaion and speciying
real consequences ied o how sudens achieve on perormance measures ocuses
eachers atenion on hese oucomes.
Include goal setting i n teacher evaluation. Te eacher-evaluaion programs
repored impac on eacher pracice was achieved almos enirely hrough he
goal-seting porion o his reorm. eachers said ha seting goals generally made
heir eaching more coheren and orced hem o be more organized and mindul
o how hey used ime. Policymakers should consider goal seting as a promising
sraegy o ocus eachers on key oucomes, hus shaping heir work inside andouside he classroom.
Include teachers as partners in teacher evaluation. Te generally posiive view
o his reorm held by eachers semmed in large measure rom heir ongoing
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4 Center or American Progress | Teacher s Perspectives on Eval uati on Reorm
involvemen wih he program. Tis suggess ha policymakers should consider
ways in which o cra eacher-evaluaion policy o enable eachers o join as par-
ners in heir own assessmen and improvemen. Tis seems paricularly imporan
o higher-perorming eachers.
Invest in building the capacity of administrators as instructional leaders. Teeacher-evaluaion program seemed o be much more successul in is eor o
increase eacher accounabiliy han i was in is eor o increase he insruc-
ional capabiliies o all is eachers. Bolsering he proessional learning aspec o
a eacher-evaluaion program requires increased atenion o developing he skill
and willingness o school leaders o go ino classrooms and oer high-qualiy,
ongoing eedback. I also requires ha schools srucure opporuniies or leaders
o oer such eedback. o increase he probabiliy ha eacher-evaluaion reorm
will improve eachers insrucion, policymakers should consider ways o increase
he capaciy o adminisraors o ac as insrucional leaders and provide admin-
israors wih opporuniies o exercise hese skills. Tis includes having admin-israors oer more argeed proessional developmen on ideniying eecive
insrucion and having hem coach eachers on how o develop skills in line wih
his vision. I includes puting in place srucures ha allow school leaders o ge
ino classrooms and work wih eachers on insrucional maters more requenly.
Provide opportunities for qualified teachers to exercise instructional leadership.
o dramaically inensiy he consequences o eacher-evaluaion programs,
saes and disrics may need o enlis exper eachers. Policymakers should
consider permiting individuals oher han school leaders o evaluae eachers.
Given he demands on adminisraors ime and he ac ha some eachers
possess a deep knowledge o insrucion, broadening he erm evaluaor o
include hese eachers makes sense.
Devoe more consideraion o how eacher evaluaion can bene high-
perorming eachers. In recen years policymakers have ocused on reorming
eacher evaluaion o sharpen he consequences or persisenly low-perorming
eachers. I is now ime o sar hinking more broadly abou how eacher evalu-
aion can enhance he pracice o eachers across he perormance specrum.
Maximizing he eecs o eacher-evaluaion reorm by considering he supporsand rewards ha allow middle- o high-perorming eachers o improve heir
pracice is imperaive.
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Introduction and summary | www.americanprogress.
Tis paper briey reviews wha is known abou eacher evaluaion and pays par-
icular atenion o ndings ha inorm curren reorms. Te paper describes in
deail he seting in which his sudy ook place and he specic eacher-evaluaion
reorm ha was he subjec o his inquiry. I also describes he mehods used o
collec and analyze daa. Finally, i deails he ndings, concluding wih a number
o specic recommendaions or policymakers.
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Teacher evaluation: An over view | www.americanprogress.
Teacher evaluation: An overview
eacher-evaluaion sysems generally have wo main purposes: o provide eedback
o eachers o improve heir pracice and o ideniy underperorming eachers or
remediaion and, i necessary, dismissal.6 Evidence on he success o hese sysems
in achieving hese ends is no encouraging. Alhough cerain evaluaion sysems
improve eacher perormance, mos eachers repor ha evaluaion does litle o
improve heir eaching.7 Only 26 percen o eachers in a recen sudy by Educaion
Secor, an independen educaion policy hink ank, repored ha evaluaion was
useul and eecive.8 o underscore he poin, a recen sudy conduced in 12 large
urban disrics indicaed ha he vas majoriy o eachers received he highes evalu-aion raing possible.9 Tis is problemaic because i means ha eachers are receiv-
ing inaccurae signals abou heir perormance. Highly skilled eachers ge he signal
ha heir insrucion is no beter han ha o he grea majoriy o heir peers. Poorly
perorming eachers hink here is nohing wrong wih heir eaching. 10
Muliple acors, oen working in andem, hinder eacher evaluaion. Exernal
consrains such as vague disric sandards, poor evaluaion insrumens, overly
resricive collecive bargaining agreemens, and a lack o ime decrease evaluaors
opporuniy and inclinaion o evaluae rigorously.11 Also impeding evaluaion are
inernal consrains such as lack o evaluaor skill in assessing eachers, he absence
o high-qualiy proessional developmen or evaluaors, a school culure ha dis-
courages criical eedback and negaive evaluaion raings, and a disric culure ha
oers litle oversigh and ew incenives or adminisraors o evaluae accuraely.12
Addiionally, eacher evaluaion has ew consequences, eiher negaive or posiive.
Tis reduces he willingness o evaluaors o evaluae accuraely and horoughly,
which in urn reduces he moivaion o eachers o ake evaluaion seriously.13
wo oher ailings o eacher evaluaion have drawn paricular criicism:14
Firs, eacherevaluaion has generally ocused on eachers acions, raher han on suden learning.15
Second, he evaluaion process has ypically provided eachers wih scan eedback.16
I was agains his backdrop ha his sudy o eacher-evaluaion reorm was
underaken.
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Study setting | www.americanprogress.
Study setting
Te Sudyville School Disric is a medium-sized disric in a norheasern urban
cener. More han 70 percen o Sudyvilles approximaely 20,000 sudens
receive ree- or reduced-price lunches, and ewer han 30 percen o sudens per-
orm a he expeced level on sae achievemen ess. Te disrics new eacher-
evaluaion program seeks o increase he insrucional qualiy o is approximaely
1,600 eachers. Implemened in he all o 2010, Sudyvilles evaluaion program
requires school leaders o evaluae eachers annually and provide more requen
and inormal coaching. Te disrics evaluaion program also requires ha each-ers be evaluaed based on he exen o which heir sudens mee perormance
goals ha are developed collaboraively by eachers and heir evaluaors. eachers
raings are based largely on suden perormance, bu hey are also based on
sandards-based observaions and eachers proessional conduc.
Each all he disrics eachers begin he school year by meeing wih heir evalua-
or o se a leas wo suden-perormance goals or he academic year. Each goal
is based on suden growh in key skills and knowledge relaed o he subjec or
grade augh. Elemenary eachers in grades our hrough eigh, or example, mus
creae a leas one goal based on heir sudens perormance on he sae sandard-
ized es. eachers and evaluaors mee again a he midpoin o he school year o
discuss eachers progress oward meeing heir goals. A ha ime goals may be
modied slighly i boh paries agree o he change.
Also during he all sar o he school year, disric evaluaors are required o
ideniy poenial exemplary and underperorming eachers. A he end o he aca-
demics year, eachers receive an annual summaive raingwhich can range rom
needs improvemen (1) o exemplary (5) and is based on wheher heir sudens
mee heir perormance goals as well as a subjecive assessmen by heir evalua-or. In November, however, based on heir observaions in he rs wo monhs o
he school year, evaluaors mus ideniy eachers who could poenially receive
a needs improvemen raing o 1 or an exemplary raing o 5. Tese preliminary
raings will be compared o observaions made by hird-pary evaluaors (valida-
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10 Center or American Progress | Teachers Perspectives on Evaluatio n Reorm
ors) exernal o he disric. Tese rained ouside observers evaluae eachers
concurrenly bu independenly o disric evaluaors. No communicaion passes
o he exernal evaluaor regarding wheher a eacher was idenied as a poenial
high perormer or low perormer, nor do he wo observers communicae regard-
ing heir assessmen o he observed lesson. In his way, he hird-pary evaluaors
provide an imparial assessmen o he highes- and lowes-perorming eachers.
eachers scored as exemplary (5) by boh he disric evaluaor and he exernal
evaluaor are eligible or leadership posiions. Tose eachers scored as needs
improvemen (1) by inernal and exernal evaluaors receive inensive suppor and
could be dismissed prior o he end o he school year i hey ail o improve.
Te new eacher-evaluaion program depars rom he disrics prior sysem inis incorporaion o suden achievemen, is eor o increase he qualiy and
requency o inormal eedback, and is clear posiive and negaive consequences
or eachers who perorm very well or very poorly. Te disrics new-eacher
evaluaion program has led o an upick in eacher deparures or perormance
Example 1: High school media arts teacher. Students in arts and technology classes
often develop portfolios of work showcasing their mastery of various skills. A media
arts teacher might therefore set one goal of having 90 percent of his or her students
complete a portfolio. For the second goal the teacher might use the district s 21st
century skills standards and assessments and establish that 90 percent of students
should advance one performance level from their fall baseline score on the rubric of
essential skills in the strand of communication and collaboration by the end of the
school year.
Example 2: Elementary teacher. In the elementary grades administering the state
test, it is possible to set performance goals that measure student growth on the test.
But since these test results arent published until July, many teachers use district
assessments, which are based on the state test, to set their goals. In the fall teachers
in tested grades administer pre-tests to their students and then set goals. A teachercould, for example, set a goal of moving students average score on the state English
language arts standardized test from 50 percent to 70 percent correct over the
course of the academic year.
Examples of goal setting
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Study setting | www.americanprogress.o
reasons. In he summer o 2011 Sudyville noied 34 eacherso which 16 were
enuredha hey would be dismissed/nonrenewed based on heir evaluaion
raings. Tis represened approximaely 1.3 percen o enured eachers and 2.8
percen o nonenured eachers in he disric. All 34 eachers chose o leave he
sysem volunarily prior o he iniiaion o ormal dismissal proceedings.
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Study methodology | www.americanprogress.o
Study methodology
Tis paper presens ndings based on eachers views o he evaluaion reorm and
he exen o which hey repor ha i has changed how hey each. Tis inquiry
was guided by he ollowing quesions:
How do eachers view he eacher-evaluaion program?
Do eachers views vary by perormance level?
Has he eacher-evaluaion program inuenced how eachers each? I so, how?
Does he eacher-evaluaion programs inuence vary by eacher perormance level?
o undersand how eachers respond o being evaluaed based on heir sudens
perormance, an inerview-based sudy was conduced wihin he Sudyville
School Disric17a disric ha has received naional atenion or is eacher-
evaluaion reorm.
Study sample
o gain insigh ino how eachers respond o he disrics eacher-evaluaion
program, in-deph, semisrucured inerviews were conduced wih a sample o 92
paricipans: 10 principals, 10 assisan principals, and 72 eachers. A purposive
sample o 10 schools was seleced. Hal were schools where eachers repored he
mos posiive assessmen o he disrics eacher-evaluaion program based on dis-
ric surveys conduced in 2011, and hal were schools where eachers, on average,
repored he mos negaive assessmen o he evaluaion program. Four sampleschools were high schools and six were K-8 schools. Inerviews were conduced
wih he principal, he assisan principal, and wih 20 percen o 25 percen o he
schools eachers. In building he eacher sample, eachers were seleced based on
years o eaching experience and by subjec area and grade level augh in order o
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maximize eacher-raing variaion. Te sample included boh enured and nonen-
ured eachers.18 School adminisraors were inerviewed o provide daa ha was
used o riangulae eacher repors.
Data sources
In-person, semisrucured inerviews were conduced wih 92 paricipans during
he 20112012 school year, he second year o he disrics eacher-evaluaion
program. Inerviews were 45 minues o 60 minues long and were audio-recorded
and hen ranscribed. eachers were asked a series o quesions, including wheher
he evaluaion program had alered heir pedagogy, i hey el pressured o raise
suden es scores, and abou he ime hey spen on planning and preparaion.
Inerviews wih school leaders provided an opporuniy o riangulae daa.
Paricipans were also asked wheher or no hey winessed changes in eachers
insrucion, planning and preparaion, and collaboraion.
Te inerview ranscrips were coded using open, axial, and selecive coding in
order o analyze he daa.19 Temaic summaries, caegorical marices, and ana-
lyical memos cross-case analysis were used o ideniy emerging hemes across
paricipan experiences.20
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Study indings | www.americanprogress.o
Study findings
On he whole, eachers have a generally posiive view o Sudyvilles eacher-evalu-
aion program bu repor ha i has no aeced heir insrucional pracice. A he
same ime hey say ha i has changed how hey plan and prepare o each heir
sudens and how hey progress hrough he curriculum. eachers raed lower
under he evaluaion program were more likely han hose raed higher o express
negaive views o he program, bu hey were also more likely o repor ha he
program changed he way hey each and plan.
Te nex secions o his repor describe eachers general views o he evalua-
ion program and heir specic perspecives regarding is airness and objeciviy.
Addiionally, i describes he impac ha eachers repored he evaluaion pro-
gram having on heir insrucion and heir broader pracices such as planning or
he shor and long erm.
How teachers view the evaluation program
o gaher eachers views on he disrics eacher evaluaion program, hey were
asked o commen generally on he reorm and specically on is airness and
objeciviy. Alhough mos eachers in he sample said hey welcomed he new
evaluaion program, he sample was spli as o wheher i was air or objecive.
eachers generally suppored he new evaluaion program, wih more han hal o
he eachers explicily saing ha hey had a posiive view o he sysem. When
asked her rs impression o he evaluaion program, one eacher replied, Tank
goodness. She explained ha he prior evaluaion sysem was poorly adminis-
ered, noing ha he rubrics and explici expecaions o he disrics new evalu-aion program were a grea improvemen. Said anoher eacher: I love iIs he
way o go. Oher eachers described he new evaluaion program, wih is assess-
men o eachers based on progress oward goals and more convenional observa-
ions, as much more comprehensive and more horough han he prior sysem.
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16 Center or American Progress | Teachers Perspectives on Evaluatio n Reorm
O hose eachers who did no express a consisenly posiive view o he evalu-
aion program, hal voiced a uniormly negaive view and hal expressed a mixed
view, ciing some benes and some drawbacks o he reorm. One eacher whose
view was alogeher negaive explained: I hink is errible ha hey rae each-
ers You sar being viewed as a number insead o as a person. eachers wih
mixed views included one eacher who said ha he evaluaion program made heranxious. I kind o always eel like Im on he deense and I have o proec mysel,
she said. Bu she also said he evaluaion process has a on o benes.
Overall, abou hree-quarers o he eacher sample said ha hey would recom-
mend he disrics new program as an evaluaion sysem o oher disrics. On
he oher hand, one-quarer explicily said ha hey would no recommend his
model or adopion elsewhere.
What teachers say are the most positive elements of theevaluation program
eachers idenied several aspecs o he evaluaion program as paricularly valu-
able. Tese included, in order o prevalence, is emphasis on eacher-seleced goals
based on growh in suden perormance measures; inclusion o more daa poins
on eacher perormance han in he prior evaluaion sysem; increased accoun-
abiliy or eachers; saeguards agains capricious reamen o eachers; and he
programs saus as a homegrown reorm as opposed o a sae-mandaed change.
Almos all o he eachers said hey appreciaed he emphasis ha he disrics
evaluaion program placed on eacher goals. Te opporuniy or eachers o
creae goals based on suden perormance and heir own proessional needs was
imporan o hem. Tis gave eachers some auhorship over he evaluaion pro-
cess, and hey valued his aspec o he sysem above all ohers. One eacher called
his aspec o he program empowering. Anoher eacher concurred, saying, I
eel like I have more conrolI ge o pick my own goals. Ta wasn he case
wih he previous ieraion o he evaluaion program, he eacher explained: You
would be doing your hing and hen you wouldn know unil he end o he year
wheher or no youre good or bad.
eachers also said ha hey paricularly valued he opporuniy o develop heir
own goals given ha serious consequences were atached o hem. eachers el
ha heir inpu on goals helped mainain airness in he new evaluaion sysem. As
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Study indings | www.americanprogress.o
one eacher said, One o he nice hings [abou he evaluaion program] is ha
you ge o help creae your goals, so maybe or a class has very disrupive hen
you have o pick an appropriae goal.
eachers said hey valued he goal-seting aspec o he eacher-evaluaion pro-
gram because i emphasizes no jus suden achievemen, bu also proessionalgrowh. One kindergaren eacher said, We make he wo goals or he kids in
mah and in lieracy and hen we se a goal or ourselvesa personal goal or a
proessional goal. I like he idea o saying, [W]ha could I achieve his year?
Anoher eacher agreed: I like how we have o se our own goals, especially he
proessional goals because every year Ive always ried o selec a goal or mysel
anyway, and now I ge credi or i. You ge rewarded or rying o grow as a
proessional.
Te second major bene o he eacher-evaluaion program, according o each-
ers, is is inclusion o muliple daa poins. Tey assered ha he program akesmore aspecs o eachers work ino accoun han he prior sysem. eachers
appreciaed he ac ha he new evaluaion program, in one eachers words, is
no jus one snapsho o a eachers perormance. Insead, she explained, Is
hroughou he year. And hen, i ollows up wih daa he nex year. So, is more
o he whole picure o who he eacher is raher han a small snapsho.
Many eachers idenied increased accounabiliy as anoher posiive aspec o
he evaluaion program. All sudy paricipans said ha eachers should be held
accounable. One eacher saed ha eacher evaluaion is a mirror ha orces
eachers o conron heir own pracices and eeciveness. She added ha she
valued he ac ha you can run rom his. Oher eachers wen a sep urher,
saing ha hey explicily valued he ac ha poorly perorming eachers had
been dismissed under he disrics new eacher evaluaion program. One eacher
pu i like his: I somebody is no eeciveyou need o have a way o being able
o ge rid o hem o keep good eachers. Anoher eacher voiced a similar seni-
men abou he program, saying, An adminisraor can ge rid o a eacher ha is
no doing heir job and I like i or ha. I opens up ha door bu wih checks and
balances so ha i is no a personaliy hing where an adminisraor jus doesn
like someone. Some eachers saw he abiliy o ge rid o eachers ha arendoing heir job as he primary bene o he eacher-evaluaion program.
eachers also appreciaed he saeguards pu in place under he evaluaion
program. One srengh o he sysem, hey noed, was is reliance on exernal
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validaors, paricularly in he case o low-raed eachers a risk o losing heir jobs.
eachers el ha eachers whose jobs were on he line deserved o have he evalu-
aors assessmen o heir insrucion veried by an exernal, imparial observer.
eachers also recognized he use o suden perormance growh, raher han he
percenage o sudens ataining a benchmark wih no consideraion o heir sar-ing poin, as a key aspec o he evaluaion sysem ha made i airer o eachers.
Sudens in he Sudyville disric perorm, on average, well below he sae mean on
sandardized ess. Te ac ha he new program evaluaed eachers based on heir
sudens growh made he eachers eel ha he evaluaion ook heir conex ino
accoun and ha achieving heir suden perormance goals was atainable.
Some eachers urher appreciaed he ac ha he eacher-evaluaion program
made he expecaions or perormance more explici han did he previous sys-
em. Te expliciness o he expecaionsknowing wha suden-growh bench-
marks had o be reached, or examplewas no only seen as saeguarding againscapricious reamen o eachers via he evaluaion program, bu also as inorming
eachers day-o-day insrucion. One eacher said, Tere is a rubric ha you can
ollow and should be ollowing in erms o wha expecaions are. So I hink has
more clearly saed. eachers appreciaed knowing where heir perormance
sood, boh hrough he goal-seting meeings and also hrough heir own racking
o suden growh.
Finally, eachers voiced pragmaic moivaions or supporing his reorm. Wih
evaluaion a he cener o educaion reorm eors naionally and saewide,
eachers said ha hey waned o creae heir own sysem raher han have one
imposed on hem rom ouside he disric. Tey appreciaed he ac ha heir
eacher-evaluaion program is homegrown and ha eachers played a pivoal role
in is developmen. I know is happening all over he counry. I mean his is he
way hings are going, commened one eacher. Tere was broad acknowledge-
men or he need o have some accounabiliy. Bu he consensus was ha
developing an evaluaion sysem in-disric wih eacher inpu was preerable o a
sae-mandaed sysem. One eacher said ha he Sudyville disrics sysem was
beter han wha he governor is suggesing, reerring o a proposal ha each-
ers be evaluaed solely on heir sudens es scores wih no eacher goal setingincluded. Te same eacher said he disrics eacher-evaluaion program is a
much beter opion because i involves conversaion. Is collaboraive. Anoher
eacher voiced a similar senimen: Is beter or us o be in charge o our own
evaluaion raher han leting he sae do i.
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What teachers say are the most negative elements of the
evaluation program
eachers also noed several negaive elemens o he disrics revised evaluaion
sysem, which are discussed below in order o prevalence. Te primary negaive
repored was he percepion shared by a subsanial number o eachers ha heevaluaion sysem increased he power o school leaders. Tere were several aces
o his criicism.
eachers voiced he greaes concern abou wha hey saw as he increased abil-
iy o school leaders o re eachers. Tis percepion was shaped no only by he
srucural changes o eacher evaluaion embedded in he new evaluaion program
bu also by he consequences ha he disric atached o he programs eacher
raings. eachers noed in paricular he ac ha 34 eachers were recommended
or dismissal/nonrenewal aer he rs year o he evaluaion programs imple-
menaion. Moreover, eachers repored winessing increased inervenions orheir colleagues who had received low raings.
Tus, while eachers appreciaed ha more eachers had been idenied as low
perorming and ruly underperorming eachers had been dismissed under he
evaluaion program, hey also repored being alarmed when eachers hey per-
ceived o be relaively skilled received low raings or were dismissed. eachers,
even hose wih high raings, voiced concerns abou adminisraors power o
inuence heir evaluaion raings. Despie he ac ha here were saeguards
(mos noably, he exernal validaors) agains adminisraors using he evaluaion
process o unairly arge eachers, some eachers could no shake he ear ha
hese proecions migh no be sufcien.
All schools in he sample had eachers who received needs improvemen (1)
raings, and in some o hese cases he eachers were dismissed. A sizeable minor-
iy believed ha in some cases good eachers received Needs Improvemen (1)
raings. In he words o one eacher, i scared a lo o people. Anoher eacher pu
i his way:
[W]eve seen and heard abou some people who said ha hey were raed 1. Allo a sudden, hey disappear. Tey go o anoher disric. Teyre goten rid o or
hey reire earlySo is a litle scary and i suddenly makes me eel like being
enured, i means nohing...I worked so hard o ge enured and now I eel like
ha means absoluely nohing.
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Some eachers repored having ineracions wih school leaders ha promped hem
o worry ha hose leaders migh use evaluaion o arge eachers hey disliked. One
eacher recouned hearing an adminisraor say he ollowing: I used o ake us
abou hree or our years o ge rid o a eacher, now we can ge rid someone in abou
hree monhs. I jus made my job a lo easier. Oher eachers argued ha some
adminisraors used he evaluaion program as a punishmen ool.
A number o eachers ook care o poin ou ha some evaluaors were supporive,
bu hey implied ha ohers were no. Some eachers used he word human o
describe heir own evaluaor. By human hey mean ha he evaluaor lisened
o hem and was willing o compromise or cede o a eachers poin i i was sup-
pored by ample evidence. Tey said ha oher eachers were no so orunae o
have sympaheic evaluaors.
Given he increased sakes or eachers, hey voiced a concern abou program
consisency, wih dieren leaders conducing he eacher evaluaion dierenlyand assessing eachers wih varying levels o rigor. eachers oen said ha he
principal and assisan principal(s) in heir schools diered in he rigor wih which
hey raed eachers and he airness wih which hey carried ou he process. Tey
also said ha discussions wih colleagues eaching a oher schools in he disric
suggesed ha here were inconsisencies in how he process was carried ou
across dieren setings.
One eacher described especially sark discrepancies beween he wo adminisra-
ors in her building. She said one o hem does a anasic job abou lierally si-
ing down and going hrough your goals wih you, adding ha here is real eor
o guide and suppor. And hen he oher onejus gives everybody 1s and 2s.
Elaboraing, she said he assignmen o evaluaors dicaes wheher you eel he
process is wonderul or wheher you eel he process is awul.
In he rs year o he disrics evaluaion program, anoher eacher noed, Te
common denominaor o he enire hing was ha neiher he eachers nor he
adminisraors knew wha was going on because i was brand new. Oher eachers
concurred. Said a union seward:
Nobody had any idea wha he goals are really supposed o be, how deail-
oriened heyre supposed o be, how big a group youre going o measure, how
deeply youre going o measure. So was i quaniaive, qualiaive? Where are we
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going wih his? And everybody jus kind o was guessing and heyre guessing all
across he school sysem.
Inconsisencies presen in he rs year had no been cleared up by he second
year, according o eachers. I sill don hink ha here is a uniorm approach,
one eacher said. Anoher saed, I was alking o colleagues ha I go o gradschool wih rom oher schools and heir sysem o doing hings was oally dier-
en han ours.
Relaed o eachers percepions ha he program increased he sakes or hem
while being inconsisenly implemened, hey repored ha he program had
caused hem subsanial anxiey, especially in he rs year. eachers said ha once
hey wen hrough he process heir anxiey decreased. Recalling he rs year o
he evaluaion program, one eacher pu i his way:
I el like i was an added burden. I made me very anxious, because, beorewe acually saw he documens, i was all rumors o wha i was and we didn
really know wha i was. And slowly, i became less nerve-wracking, bu las year
[2010] was deniely a nerve-wracking disracion.
Even in he programs second year, some eachers sill repored having hese
eelings. As one eacher said, [Te evaluaion program] is really sressul or me
because I eel like I already jumped hrough hoops when I did [he sae-mandaed
cericaion] porolio. And now I eel like his is jus anoher added sressor in
some ways. A ew eachers repored being earul o asking adminisraors or
help. One eacher said, When I alk o adminisraors I always worry like his is
somehing has going o aec my EP (evaluaion). Lasly, a ew eachers el
hey could no each as creaively because hey el heir sudens would no obain
he skills necessary o perorm well on sandardized assessmens embedded in he
eachers goals, hereby prevening hese eachers rom obaining heir goals.
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How teachers ratings affect their views
Tere were disinc dierences beween higher- and lower-raed eachers views o
he eacher-evaluaion program. eachers wih raings o needs improvemen (1)
were more likely o have a negaive view o he program han eachers wih higher
raings. Tey were also more likely o say ha hey would no recommend hemodel o oher school disrics. By conras, eachers wih high raingssrong
(4) and exemplary (5)were more likely o have a posiive overall view o he
evaluaion program. Bu even a ew eachers raed as 5 saed ha hey would no
recommend he disrics eacher-evaluaion program or adopion elsewhere.
One such eacher, when asked i she would recommend he evaluaion program o
oher disrics, said:
No, no he way i is now. I hink is oo es based and I hink is very unair
in our ciy schools wih large porions o sudens ha are already behind grade
level. And I know ha heyll say, Oh, were looking a growh hen. Bu hereare a whole lo o acors ha can be aken ino accoun or sudens growh.
And he only one heyre considering is eachers. Tas he only acor.
Anoher highly raed eacher said ha he evaluaion program had a negaive eec
on her colleagues. She said, Te ac ha people are labeled a number is no really
healhy. She urher explained, Somebodys been eeling badly abou hemselves
because heyre a 2 and hey kind o lose sigh o he goal in he whole process.
In erms o specic srenghs o he eacher-evaluaion program, i is no surprising
ha eachers who were raed as srong (4) or exemplary (5) were more likely o
say ha he program afrmed hem. One eacher who was raed as exemplary (5)
las year said, I el very honored and i was really nice and very graiying. Said a
eacher who received a 4+ raing: Is a condence-builder o be acknowledged.
eachers wih he lowes scores were mos likely o ideniy he inclusion o
exernal validaors as a key srengh o he evaluaion model. One eacher who
had received a 1 raing iniially rom he adminisraor and hen received a higher
score because o he hird-pary evaluaors assessmen expressed ha he evalua-
ion program has a lo o poenial largely because i akes ou he subjeciviyo eacher evaluaion. Anoher eacher who had also received an iniial raing o
needs improvemen (1) rom a school adminisraor said ha he liked he evalua-
ion program because i removes subjeciviy. He added ha he evaluaion pro-
gram is mos eecive or 1s or 2s because he raing has go o be proven. By his
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he mean ha evaluaors assessmens o eachers insrucion was required o be
veried by exernal raers. Ciing he increased consequences o evaluaion in he
disric, he believed some people have had jobs saved by he evaluaion program.
Assessing fairness and objectivity
Te quesion o he airness o he eacher-evaluaion program broke almos
evenly, wih approximaely equal numbers o eachers alling ino eiher he air or
he unair camp. Te sudy ound a similar resul or eachers percepions o he
programs objeciviy. Despie considering he same evidence, groups o eachers
analyzed he evidence dierenly and came o divergen conclusions abou he
airness and objeciviy o he program.
Perceptions about fairness
In discussing he programs airness, eachers ended o consider he evaluaion
process associaed wih he new sysem. Approximaely hal o he eachers in he
sample el ha he evaluaion program was air. eachers noed as evidence o
he sysems airness he use o exernal validaors and he ac ha he evaluaion
program is based on muliple daa poins, including a series o observaions and
he exen o which he eacher has me his or her goal. Some o he eachers who
viewed he sysem as air, however, oered qualiers. One eacher, or example,
said ha he eacher-evaluaion program was air i you do your job. Anoher
eacher said ha he sysem was air wih he righ adminisraor, suggesing ha
he degree o airness varied by implemener.
Oher eachers viewed he disrics evaluaion program as unequivocally unair.
One eacher repored ha he sysem was biased oward experienced eachers.
Anoher eacher said ha some people ge harassed by adminisraors under
he program. wo highly raed eachers said ha heir lower-raed colleagues
had no been reaed well by adminisraors. eachers noed ha adminisraors
someimes raed eachers wihou conducing adequae observaions, which hey
viewed as unair. Based on her observaions o adminisraors reamen o herlow-raed colleagues, one highly raed eacher said, Even i I ge a 5, Id sill be
paranoid in he uure abou geting a 1 or 2 someday. I worry ha is no always
air. She added, I don hink anyone should ever lose heir job because hey had
a disagreemen wih someone [an adminisraor].
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Perceptions about objectivity
As wih he opic o airness, approximaely hal o he eachers in he sample
el ha he evaluaion program was objecive. When discussing he concep o
objeciviy, eachers ended o consider he exen o which heir raings were
proeced rom adminisraor bias. Some eachers who viewed he evaluaion sys-em as objecive said ha he prior sysem was enirely subjecive. According o
several eachers, he new evaluaion program, by conras, akes ou subjeciviy
by heavily weighing growh in suden achievemen and including a more explici
rubric o guide assessmens o insrucion. One eacher described he disrics
new evaluaion sysem as more eacher based I have o prove wha Im doing.
By conras, she said ha he prior sysem had no pu as much eor ino esab-
lishing objecive evaluaion crieria, meaning i was a lo easier [or he adminis-
raor] o say, Oh I like you, and hen rae he eacher highly.
Despie he inclusion o goals based on suden achievemen and observaionrubrics in eacher evaluaion, some eachers sill perceived a high degree o sub-
jeciviy wihin he program. Some eachers, or example, said ha adminisraors
sill had a high degree o laiude in raing eachers. One eacher, in describing his
overall sense o he subjecive naure o he evaluaion program, said, I you have
an evaluaor who likes you youll be ne and ge a good raing. He added ha
here is oo much room or personal opinion.
Anoher eacher disinguished beween he evaluaion process, which she hough
was air, and he specicaion o a paricular raing, which she hough was subjec-
ive: I do believe here are some subjeciviies as ar as he acual numbers, 1, 2, 3,
4, 5, bu I hink he process is prety much air. She added, When i comes o he
nal [raing], I don hink like a 1 would be a 5 or 5 would be a 1, bu I hink like
a 4 may be a 5 or 1 may be a 2. She explained, Tere are sill some hings ha he
eachers do choosehe goals. Is no like everybody has he same goals. By his
she mean ha some eachers had more rigorous goals han ohers, making i more
difcul or hem o achieve a high nal evaluaion raing.
Tis senimen was also presen among some highly raed eachers. One eacher
who received a 5 said i was possible or adminisraors o say, Okay, I likeyou. Le me udge his a litle bi and give you a higher score. She explained,
Troughou he whole hing heres sill ha wiggle room. She coninued, pro-
viding an example:
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I say my goal was 20 percen and I said I me i. I don know i hey always ask
or he proo. So hen i I don have he proo, I could ell you ha IOh, I hi
i. I made my goal. And hen i hey don look a i o see i and prove i, hen
okay, I should ge a 5 because Im elling you I me everyhing. And who knows i
I really did?
Lasly, some eachers el ha he disrics eacher-evaluaion program was
enirely subjecive, reporing ha adminisraors assumpions abou eachers
colored all o heir eacher evaluaion assessmens:
I don hink heyre consisen. I hink unorunaely ha hey do have precon-
ceived noions...I mean, I hae o say i, bu I hink is human naure or people
o have preconceived noions and is so hard o unpack ha baggage, and I don
hink ha hey will always do. I don know i I could be doing heir job.
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Reported influence on teachers practice
eachers views o evaluaion programs are imporan, o be sure, bu wha is
more imporan is he exen o which i improves heir insrucional pracice.
eachers repored in general ha he Sudyville eacher-evaluaion program had
no changed heir pedagogy. Bu hey did say ha i had aeced heir shor- and
long-erm planning by holding hem personally accounable or suden peror-
mance hrough he evaluaion programs goal componen. Moreover, here were
imporan dierences by raing in wheher eachers repored ha he evaluaion
program had aeced heir pedagogy. eachers wih low raings (1 and 2) weremore likely o repor ha he disrics eacher-evaluaion program had aeced
heir insrucional pracices and heir broader planning and preparaion. eachers
wih higher raings (3, 4, and 5) were much less likely o repor ha he evaluaion
program had changed heir work in any capaciy.
Direct influence on instruction
Very ew o he eachers inerviewed repored ha he evaluaion program had
aeced heir insrucion in erms o changing heir pedagogical sraegies. In
responding o quesions abou he evaluaion programs impac on heir insrucion,
eachers revealed wha hey perceived as he primary eecs o he reorm. Many
idenied he primary impac o he evaluaions as increasing eacher sel-assessmen
and produciviy. Many said ha hey were already criiquing hemselves and modi-
ying heir insrucion. One highly raed eacher, or example, saed:
Im going o be he person whos mos hard on mysel. Im no going o leave ha
up o my boss. I hink, in general, eachers are like ha. I hold mysel o high
sandards, which I dene fom mysel and I wan o see kids be successul. Taswhy Im in his business.
Anoher eacher said ha he new sysem did no aec her pedagogy because I
was doing new su anyway. While anoher said, Ive always worked hard.
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As eachers explained heir responses, many said ha alhough heir specic
insrucional pracices had no changed, heir broader approach o eaching had
been alered. One eacher, or insance, responded o he quesion o wheher he
evaluaion program had aeced her insrucion by saying, No ha Im aware
o, no. I mean I have gone hrough observaions beore, Ive se goals beore. She
urher explained, however, ha he new evaluaion program had changed herbroader approach o eaching by esablishing goals based on suden achievemen
as he oundaion or eacher evaluaion. I hink Im more concerned wih daa in
erms o whaever my goal is and sor o in erms o he achievemen. So i jus sor
o ocuses me, she said. I don hink i changes he acual way ha I each bu i
does keep ha as a consan ocus hroughou he year.
Broader influence on instruction
Consisen wih he above commens, mos eachers in he sample said ha heeacher-evaluaion program had broadly changed how hey approached insruc-
ion. Generally, he program seems o make suden achievemen as embedded
in eacher goals more cenral o heir hinking. As a resul, hey repor aligning
heir planning more closely o heir evaluaion program goals, alering he pacing
o insrucion o ensure sudens can hi he achievemen arges, and jetisoning
aciviies ha hey believe will no help sudens atain hese arges.
Focusing teachers work
As discussed earlier, many eachers repored ha he inclusion o suden achieve-
men goals increased heir ocus on suden achievemen in heir day-o-day each-
ing. One eacher explained ha he evaluaion program helped her o say ocused
on long-range suden perormance arges. [B]eing more ormally evaluaed has
made me more cauious o wha Im rying o doSomeimes I ge so los in he
day-o-day goals, bu [he eacher evaluaion program] kind o orces you o hink
bigger picure.
Te disric has emphasized eachers analysis o daa or several years, oeringproessional developmen on daa analysis and holding school- and disric-wide
daa days where eachers share and analyze daa ogeher. eachers repored
ha he eacher evaluaion program has amplied his eor. According o one
eacher, he evaluaion program has made all o us look a daa more and look a
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i consanly, paricularly daa relaed o goal seting as a way o making sure ha
youre reaching ha goal.
Oher eachers said ha he disrics evaluaion program encouraged hem o
hink more careully abou he needs o individual sudens and wha i would ake
o suppor heir growh. One eacher explained, [A] he beginning o he yearyou really look a he kids and youll sayOkay, I wan o move hese kidsSo
I wan o ocus on hem. I individualizes my insrucion a litle more because I
know ha I have o make sure, or ry o make sure o he bes o my abiliy, ha
hese ew kids move.
Altering instructional pacing
eachers in he sudy also emphasized he evaluaion programs eec on heir
progress hrough he specied curriculum. Many eachers said ha he programmade hem increase heir eors o each conen and skills ha were embedded
in heir program goals. In many cases, his mean hey had o slow he pace o
heir insrucion o ensure ha sudens learned key conceps and skills. As one
high school eacher said, [Te evaluaion program] orced me o look a my own
eaching and slow down and hink abou whas imporan. She elaboraed, say-
ing he ollowing:
I had o slow down a lo o he curriculum in erms o coming up wih he
aciviiesTe curriculum says ha hey only wan me o spend hree days, or
example, on characerizaion, indirec characerizaion, or making inerences;
bu has no enough [ime]. So I acually know ha Im going o be evaluaed
on his. I acually have slowed i down. I creaed more workshees and games
han I normally would jus o ry o make sure ha I drive i home or he kids.
Anoher eacher, voicing a similar senimen, emphasized he consequences or
a eacher i sudens did no learn skills or conen embedded in he eachers
evaluaion goals. [I] hey [sudens] don ge he lesson, is going o come back
o haun you because hen hey can pass your nal assessmen or your goal ha
youve creaed or he end o his year. She said ha his ac encouraged her ohone in on her individual evaluaion goals. As eachers, you wan a housand
goals, she coninued, adding ha he evaluaion program orced her o really
ocus [on] hose couple o goals hroughou everyhing you do. I makes i [a]
more cohesive learning environmen.
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Maximizing learning time
eachers repored ha he eacher-evaluaion program pressed hem o maximize
learning ime. Te knowledge ha hey would be evaluaed based on suden-per-
ormance growh increased he pressure eachers el o prepare ully and say rue o
he curriculum, paricularly i skills and conen relaed direcly o heir goals. On hewhole, eachers viewed his pressure o ocus on heir suden-perormance goals as
a posiive o he program. One highly raed veeran said ha he evaluaion program
spurred him o be consanly on ask in he classroom. Tis senimen was paricu-
larly pronounced among lower-raed eachers, as discussed below.
Differences by rating
Alhough he overall impac o he eacher-evaluaion program on eachers peda-
gogy was repored o be minimal, eachers who received a raing o 1 were morelikely o say ha he program aeced heir pedagogy as well as heir more general
approach o eaching. One eacher who had received a 1 said ha eedback he
received hrough he evaluaion process led him o change he way he conduced
reading groups and he way he prepared lesson plans. Anoher eacher who received
a 1 said ha he program made her more mindul o ime. She also said knowing
ha she would be evaluaed on suden perormance made her more likely o reeach
key conceps her sudens had no grasped. Oher eachers who received low raings
said i aeced how hey approached heir work. One eacher said i ges me more
organized. She added ha he program makes her plan more. Anoher eacher,
raed a 1, said, I made me more on poinI couldn slack o.
Some eachers who received lower raings said ha he evaluaion program
changed heir insrucion, bu or he worse. Tere were complains abou eeling
he wrong ype o pressure and ha he program has aken he enjoymen ou
o eaching. One eacher opined, We eel like were in a race wih no nish line.
Tis same eacher said, Someimes he adminisraors poin ou hings bu don
work wih you o improve i. And he added ha he increased ocus on suden
achievemen has le much less ime or culivaing personal connecions wih
sudens[I] miss personal ime wih kids.
eachers who received an exemplary raing (5), by conras, were more likely o
say ha he eacher-evaluaion program did no aec heir pedagogy. Insead
hey el ha i was more o an acknowledgemen o heir good work. When asked
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wheher he evaluaion program aeced her insrucion, one eacher who had
been recommended as a 5, said, For me, I don hink i did. I hink i jus solidi-
ed ha I was doing wha I was supposed o be doing.
I hey cied any aec on heir work, eachers who received a srong (4) or
exemplary (5) raing said ha i made heir goals and suden perormance moreprominen in heir hinking. As one rs-grade eacher explained:
I has helped me have a more direc goal and o no be so wide ranged in every-
hing I wan o do. I mean I would love o have hese kids all day everyday o
ge everyhing in which is jus no possible. So i helps me o look awha do
hey need in order o make i o second grade; wha do I wan hem o know;
wha do hey need o be able o do in order o be ready or second gradeIm
more ocused on wha hey need in order o be successul and o move on [o
second-grade].
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Limited impact on pedagogy | www.americanprogress.o
Limited impact on pedagogy
Alhough many eachers repored ha he eacher-evaluaion program aeced
he broad way hey approach eaching, mos said ha i had no direcly aeced
heir pedagogy.
Why was his he case?
Almos all eachers said hey me wih heir evaluaor o se goals and assess heir
progress owards hem, bu eachers repored ha he requency o classroomobservaions varied. Moreover, only a ew eachers repored ha hey received
helpul eedback rom heir adminisraors ollowing observaion. Les look a
boh acors in greaer deail.
Frequency of observations
According o his sample o eachers, observaions do no seem o be more
requen han prior o he implemenaion o he eacher evaluaion program.
Approximaely 60 percen o eachers in he sample said hey were observed less
under he new evaluaion sysem han under he prior sysem. Tis percepion
does no seem o sem rom eachers dening he erm observaion narrowly o
mean a ormal, scheduled observaion.
Some eachers repored ha hey were observed abou he same number o imes
as under he previous sysem. A much smaller segmen o eachers said ha hey
were no observed. One eacher said o an evaluaor, Im no observed a all. Said
anoher eacher o her adminisraor, He was rarely in my classroom and only or
very brie momens.
eachers also repored ha when adminisraors did observe heir classrooms,
hey el ha he adminisraors did no spend he ime needed o ge an accurae
sense o heir classrooms. One eacher explained, Las year, she would pop in or
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34 Center or American Progress | Teachers Perspectives on Evaluatio n Reorm
jus a couple minues and no even really enough in my opinion o really gauge wha
lesson I was doing. Te eacher said i seemed as i he evaluaor was simply sop-
ping by jus o see i he kids are on ask. Tas prety much all she looked a.
Oher eachers voiced a general wish or more observaions. I wish ha hey
came in more oen. I eel like Im an okay eacher bu someimes I eel like hissysem sill allows people o ge away wih hings like he las sysem did, said one
high school eacher.
Helpfulness of feedback
In addiion o inrequen observaions, eachers repored ha he eedback hey
received rom adminisraors was o varied qualiy. Only abou hal o he eacher
sample said ha he eedback under he auspices o he eacher evaluaion pro-
gram was helpul.
One eacher oered, You don really ge eedback. I haven goten any eedback,
none in any o he schoolsI jus don know whas going on, so i gives you ha
sense o Wha are hey looking or? Wha are we doing?
Anoher eacher said ha he ocus o he evaluaion program was on holding
he required meeings o se eachers goals and analyze progress oward hem.
She said here was less emphasis and consisency in he observaion and eed-
back componen. In May, as he 20112012 school year was winding down, his
eacher said she had been observed only one ime and had no really received
eedback. She said here was no enough eedback o help her learn and assered
ha he evaluaion program mus change so ha i becomes ocused on eacher
learning and on he process raher han jus on compliance.
Oher eachers discussed a mismach beween heir subjec experise and he
experise and backgrounds o adminisraors. A sevenh- and eighh-grade mah
eacher, or example, said ha he eedback he had received was no helpul
because his adminisraor, who had experience wih primary grades, did no have a
background o evaluae his subjec area. I each algebra and pre-algebra, and shellcome in and some o he lessons migh blow her away bu i could be somehing
as simple as jus wo-sep equaion, which is very simple o me, he said, speaking
o his evaluaor. I hink ha hey need o bring in eiher an evaluaor rom he
disric or somebody ha can judge a lesson plan or ha specic specialy.
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Limited impact on pedagogy | www.americanprogress.o
Overall, hen, he repored inrequency o observaion and he unevenness o
eedback may explain why ew eachers el ha he eacher evaluaion program
led o changes in heir pedagogy.
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Recommendations | www.americanprogress.o
Recommendations
Based on inerviews wih a purposive sample o eachers, he sudy ound ha he
Sudyville School Disrics eacher-evaluaion program is generally well regarded
by educaors in he classroom. Alhough eachers were divided abou wheher
he new sysem is air or objecive, he majoriy would recommend i wih sligh
modicaions o oher disrics. In erms o is repored eecs on eacher prac-
ice, he program seems o have had he larges impac on eacher planning and
produciviy, and i has led o changes in pedagogy or a ew eachers, mosly hose
who received very low raings.
Tus, he disrics eacher-evaluaion program seems o have spurred he grea-
es degree o change in eacher pracice hrough is goal-seting elemen. Te
observaion elemen, coupled wih coaching and eedback, does no seem o have
changed eachers pracice. Tis may be because many eachers said hey were no
observed requenly and received litle helpul eedback.
Moreover, he evaluaion programs repored impac was greaes on hose each-
ers wih he lowes evaluaion raings. Tese eachers were more likely o repor
ha he evaluaion program caused hem o change heir pedagogical pracices as
well as heir broader approach o heir work. eachers who received high raings
were much less likely o repor ha he program produced any concree changes
in heir insrucion.
Tese ndings sugges ha i is possible o spur changes in eacher pracice
by increasing individual-level eacher accounabiliy or suden achievemen
while a he same ime elevaing eacher ownership over eacher evaluaion and
insiuing saeguards o proec eachers agains biased acions on he par o
adminisraors. Tese ndings sugges he ollowing implicaions or policymak-ers and praciioners.
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38 Center or American Progress | Teachers Perspectives on Evaluatio n Reorm
Hold teachers accountable for student performance
eachers were clear ha he eacher-evaluaion program would have had litle
eec on heir broader approach o heir work had here no been clear conse-
quences atached o his reorm. Te ac ha eachers were dismissed aer he
evaluaion programs rs year and he ac ha suden-perormance growh wasweighed so heavily in he new evaluaion sysem caused eachers o increase heir
ocus on his oucome. Holding eachers accounable or suden perormance,
wih real consequences atached o achieving or no achieving se goals, seemed o
produce real changes in eachers behavior. Policymakers have in many cases made
suden perormance a cenral aspec o eacher evaluaion. Tis sudy suggess
ha making suden perormance cenral o eacher evaluaion and speciying real
consequences or wheher or no eachers reach heir suden perormance goals
ocuses eachers atenion on his oucome.
Include goal setting in teacher evaluation
Te eacher-evaluaion programs impac on eacher pracice was achieved almos
enirely hrough he goal porion o his evaluaion reorm. Under he previous eval-
uaion sysem, eachers se goals, bu he sakes were higher under he new evalua-
ion program, and his led hem o ake he goals more seriously and each and plan
wih he goals in mind. eachers said ha he increased emphasis on goals generally
made heir eaching more coheren, along wih making hem more organized and
more mindul o how hey used ime. eachers already seting goals on heir own
appreciaed he ac ha his pracice was endorsed by he new evaluaion program.
Policymakers should consider goal seting as a promising sraegy o ocus eachers
on key oucomes, hus shaping heir work in and ou o he classroom.
Include teachers as partners in teacher evaluation
Te majoriy o eachers inerviewed or his sudy viewed he disrics new eacher
evaluaion program avorably. Even hose who received low raings el ha he
program was an improvemen over he disrics previous evaluaion sysem. Tegenerally posiive view held by eachers semmed in large par rom heir ongoing
involvemen wih he program. eachers valued he ac ha hey were able o se
heir own goals in consulaion wih heir adminisraor. Tis increased heir owner-
ship over he process and, especially or hose eachers who were no a risk o losing
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Recommendations | www.americanprogress.o
heir jobs, made hem eel ha hey could bene rom paricipaing in he evalua-
ion program. eachers also cied he involvemen o heir colleagues as parners in
developing he reorm as a key reason or heir suppor o he iniiaive. Overall, his
suggess ha policymakers should consider ways o cra eacher-evaluaion policy
o enable eachers o join as parners in heir own assessmen and improvemen.
Tis seems paricularly imporan o higher-perorming eachers.
Invest in building the capacity of administrators as
instructional leaders
Tis sudy nds ha he eacher-evaluaion program seems o be spurring
changes o he work pracices o lower-raed eachers via he hrea o negaive
consequences and, o some exen, direc eedback rom adminisraors regard-
ing specic pedagogical changes. In shor, he evaluaion program seems much
more successul in is eor o increase eacher accounabiliy han in is eor oincrease he repored insrucional capabiliies o all is eachers. In many ways,
his is no surprise. I is much easier o insiue accounabiliy and consequences
han o make he culural and srucural changes necessary o capialize on he
eacher-evaluaion programs poenial o improve he insrucion o all eachers.
Bolsering he proessional learning aspec o he evaluaion program requires
increased atenion o developing skill, will, and opporuniy or school leaders o
ge ino heir eachers classrooms and oer high-qualiy, ongoing eedback.
Tis is much easier said han done, ye he success o he eacher-evaluaion
sysem hinges in large measure on he work and involvemen o school leaders. As
policymakers ramp up eacher-evaluaion sysems o make hem more rigorous,
he burden on school leaders in mos cases inensies dramaically. In he rush
o hold eachers accounable, oo ew policymakers sop o consider he praci-
cal implicaions o heir proposals, including he quesion o who will evaluae all
hese eachers based on muliple measures and muliple observaions.
o increase he probabiliy ha eacher-evaluaion reorm will improve eachers
insrucion, policymakers should consider ways in which o increase he capaciy
o adminisraors as insrucional leaders. Tis means ha mos, i no all, schoolleaders will need addiional proessional developmen regarding no only eec-
ive insrucional echniques in dieren subjecs and grade levels, bu also how o
deliver high-qualiy eedback and coach eachers across he perormance specrum.
I also requires ha schools srucure opporuniies or leaders o oer such eed-
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40 Center or American Progress | Teachers Perspectives on Evaluatio n Reorm
back. Tis may involve aking some responsibiliies away rom school leaders and, as
discussed below, enlising addiional evaluaors o carry ou his imporan work.
Provide opportunities for qualified teachers to exercise
instructional leadership
Policymakers would be wise o consider wheher school leaders can reasonably
carry ou high-qualiy eacher evaluaion while atending o heir many oher
responsibiliies. Te answer in many cases mos likely is ha school leaders can-
no successully do all o wha is required o hem. Given his realiy, saes would
be wise o consider permiting individuals oher han school leaders o evaluae
eachers. Tese evaluaors could include reired adminisraors. Te mos promis-
ing source o addiional evaluaors, however, is maser eachers. Tese individuals
know eaching well and oen possess specic subjec-area and/or grade-level
experise ha a building principal or assisan principal may lack. o dramaicallyinensiy he consequences o eacher evaluaions, saes and disrics may need o
enlis exper eachers.
Devote more consideration to how teacher evaluation can benefit
high-performing teachers
Lasly, a clear implicaion o his sudy is ha policymakers seeking o reorm eacher
evaluaion need o devoe more consideraion o deermining how eacher evalua-
ion can bene high-perorming eachers. According o his sample, high-perorm-
ing eachers appreciaed he validaion o heir raing. Tey also repored ha he
evaluaion program ocused heir atenion on suden achievemen as embedded in
heir goals. Bu hey did no repor ha he evaluaion sysem helped hem improve
heir classroom insrucion or provided concree rewards or obaining high raings.
While hese high-perorming eachers said ha he evaluaion program was no a
burden, hey also said he program did no bene hem proessionally.
In recen years policymakers have ocused on reorming eacher evaluaion o
sharpen consequences or persisenly low-perorming eachers. I is now ime osar hinking more broadly abou how eacher evaluaion can enhance he prac-
ices and oucomes o eachers across he perormance specrum. o maximize he
eecs o eacher-evaluaion reorm, considering he suppors and rewards ha
encourage middle and high perormers o improve heir pracice is imperaive.
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Conclusion | www.americanprogress.o
Conclusion
eacher-evaluaion reorm is ron and cener in he eors o improve our public
schools. Despie he magniude o he changes being enaced o eacher evalua-
ion and he consequences ied o he process, we have litle sysemaic evidence
regarding how eachers are responding o hese changes and wheher heir experi-
ences wih reorm dier by level o eacher perormance. Tis small-scale sudy
sough o provide evidence o inorm he debae among policymakers abou how
evaluaion should be changed so ha i yields he greaes impac or schools,
disric leaders, adminisraors, eachers, and, mos imporanly, sudens.
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About the author | www.americanprogress.o
About the author
Morgaen L. Donaldson is an assisan proessor o educaional leadership a he
Universiy o Connecicus Neag School o Educaion and a research afliae
a he universiy s Cener or Educaion Policy Analysis. She is also a research
associae a he Projec on he Nex Generaion o eachers a Harvard Universiy.As a researcher, she sudies policies and pracices relaed o eacher qualiy,
eacher evaluaion, school and disric human-capial developmen, and eacher
unions. Her recen publicaions include Srenghening eacher Evaluaion:
Wha Disric Leaders Can Do in Educaional Leadership (2012); each or
Amrica: Te Lainizaion o U.S. Schools and he Criical Shorage o Laino/a
eachers in American Educaional Research Journal (2012); and Te Price
o Misassignmen: Te Role o eaching Assignmens in each or America
eachers Exi rom Low-Income Schools and he eaching Proession in
Educaional Evaluaion and Policy Analysis (2010). A ormer public high school
eacher, Donaldson was a ounding aculy member o he Boson Ars Academy,Bosons public high school or he ars. She also served as a projec manager in a
Gaes Foundaion-unded iniiaive o replicae he pracices o small schools ha
eecively served low-income and minoriy sudens. Donaldson holds a docor o
educaion and a maser in educaion degree rom he Harvard Graduae School o
Educaion and a bachelors degree rom Princeon Universiy.
Acknowledgements
I am mos graeul o he eachers and principals who shared heir experiences
wih me and o he disric leaders who suppored his projec and aciliaed
my access o schools and educaors. Tanks are also due o Jennier Freeman,
Alexandria Davies, and John Madura or assisance in collecing hese daa. I also
hank Glenda Paree, Kae Penningon, Adriane Dorringon, and Angela Minnici
or heir eedback on earlier dras o his repor. Te research on which his paper
is based was suppored by a gran rom he Cener or American Progress. All
errors are my own.
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Endnotes | www.americanprogress.o
Endnotes
1 See, e.g., Daniel McCarey and others, Evaluatingvalue-added models or teacher accountability (SantaMonica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2003).
2 Morgaen L. Donaldson, So Long, Lake Wobegon?:Using Teacher Evaluation to Raise Teacher Quality
(Washington: Center or American Progress, 2009);Daniel Weisberg and others, The Widget Eect (NewYork: The New Teacher Project, 2009).
3 Alexander Russo, List o States Making RTTT-RelatedChanges, available at http://scholasticadministrator.ty-pepad.com/thisweekineducation/2010/06/usde-list-o-states-making-rtttrelated-changes.html (last accessedOctober 29, 2011); Liana Heitin and Sean Cavanaugh,Legislatures Approve Tougher Teacher Policies, Educa-tion Week 30 (36) (2011): 26.
4 All proper nouns in this report are pseudonyms.
5 These recommendations are not listed in any particularorder.
6 Mary Kennedy, Teacher Assessment and the Questor Teacher Quality (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2010);
Linda Darling-Hammond, Arthur Wise, and Sara Pease,Teacher Evaluation in the Organizational Context:A Review o the Literature, Review o EducationalResearch, 53 (3) (1983): 285-328.
7 See Eric Taylor and John Tyler, The Eects o Evalua-tion on Perormance. Working Paper 16877 (NationalBureau o Economic Research: 2011), available at http://www.nber.org/papers/w16877.
8 Ann Duett and others, Waiting to Be Won Over(Washington: Education Sector, 2008).
9 Weisberg and others, The Widget Eect.
10 For a more in-depth discussion o how infated ratingsmight aect teacher motivation, see Donaldson, SoLong Lake Wobegon?
11 Julia Koppich and Elaine Showalter, Strategic Manage-ment o Human Capital: A Cross-Case Analysis o FiveDistricts (Madison, WI: Strategic Management oHuman Capital, 2008); Christopher Brandt and others,Examining district guidance to schools on teacherevaluation policies in the Midwest Region (Washing-
ton: U.S. Department o Education, Institute o Educa-tion Sciences, National Center or Education Evaluationand Regional Assistance, Regional Educational Labora-tory Midwest, 2007); Richard Halverson and MatthewCliord, Evaluation in the Wild: A Distributed CognitionPerspective on Teacher Assessment, EducationalAdministration Quarterly, 42 (4) (2006): 578-619.
12 Steven Kimball and Anthony Milanowski, ExaminingTeacher Evaluation Validity and Leadership DecisionMaking within a Standards-Based Evaluation System,Educational Administration Quarterly, 45 (1) (2009):34-70.
13 Weisberg and others, The Widget Eect.
14 Donaldson, So Long Lake Wobegon?
15 Kennedy, Teacher Assessment and the Quest or
Teacher Quality.
16 Weisberg and others, The Widget Eect.
17 All proper names in this paper are pseudonyms.
18 All teachers in the sample were working in the districtat the time o the district s 2011 teacher survey.
19 Anselm Strauss and Juliet Corbin, Basics o Q ualitativeResearch (Newbury Park, Caliornia: Sage, 1990).
20 Matthew Miles and A. Michael Huberman, An Ex-panded Sourcebook (Thousand Oaks, Caliornia: Sage,1994).
http://www.nber.org/papers/w16877http://www.nber.org/papers/w16877http://www.nber.org/papers/w16877http://www.nber.org/papers/w16877 -
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The Center for American Progress is a nonpartisan research and educational institute
dedicated to promoting a strong, just, and free America that ensures opportunity
for all. We believe that Americans are bound together by a common commitment to
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