General principles for an improved approach to teacher evaluation
If we take the above negatives and reverse them, then logically we should end up with some general principles for a model of how effective supervision and evaluation should look. These would be:
Teachers and administrators should have a clear, shared understanding of what constitutes ‘good teaching’.
Little et al. (2009) offer a 5 point definition of teacher effectiveness. Coe et al. (2014) offer a list of six common components suggested by research that should be considered when assessing teacher quality. The DfE in the UK have recently issued a new set of ‘Teachers’ Standards’ which “define the minimum level of practice expected of trainees and teachers” and which are also “used to assess the performance of all teachers” (DfE 2011 p.3). For the purpose of this paper, the overall summary statement used by Coe (p.2) will be adopted. He states that:
“Great teaching is defined as that which leads to improved student progress”. This simple, clear, unequivocal statement establishes a sound basis from which to proceed and guides observers towards what they should be looking for (see Point 4).
  1. Teachers and administrators should have a shared understanding about the purpose of the evaluation.Before we can think about the validity of any measures of teaching effectiveness, we need to be clear what those measures are intended to be used for. (Coe et al.2014). The purposes of evaluation should be part of a vision that is clearly articulated and is part of the culture of the school. Obviously, new or struggling teachers will require a more customised programme of support where the purpose is somewhat different, but for the ‘average’ teacher, the purpose should be twofold. Firstly it should be about student learning outcomes and secondly it should assist teachers to reflect on and improve their professional practice. The latter of course, feeds into the former. Timely, informative feedback is vital to any improvement effort (Tucker 2005)
  2. Any evaluation system should not require excessive amounts of time or paperwork to complete.Principals and teachers are busy people. It should be possible to design and implement a system which takes into account all six of these general principles and meets the needs of the school and its stakeholders, but which is also lean, efficient and useful. Darling-Hammond (2013 p.xi) states that “systems should be designed to be manageable and feasible, not so complex that they overwhelm the participants with requirements and paperwork”.
  3. Teacher evaluation should be linked to student outcomes/learningIn an effort to address the multi-dimensionality of teaching goals and responsibilities, teaching effectiveness is typically defined in terms of student learning. ( Hobson and Talbot 2001). Wherever possible, it makes sense to judge the impact of teaching from its impact on assessed learning (Coe et al. 2014). If the raison d’etre of schools is to raise student achievement, then logically student learning should be central to the process of teacher evaluation. Evaluation should focus on the outcomes of teaching rather than theprocess of teaching. If quality learning is taking place, then the teacher is doing their job and vice-versa.
  4. Appropriate training should be provided for anyone involved in the evaluation process.The success of any teacher evaluation system greatly depends on the in-depth training of the evaluators. (OECD 2009). Murphy (2013 p.16) states that observers “should have good training so that they know what to look for, provide effective feedback and keep subjective opinions to a minimum”. Darling-Hammond (2013) calls for support structures to be put in place to ensure that evaluators are properly trained. Marshall (2013) states that to be effective, principals should be knowledgeable and perceptive observers. It seems axiomatic that if we want a job done well, then the person responsible for that job should receive appropriate training to successfully execute the work. Unfortunately, in education we assume that such competencies are a natural by-product of experience.
  5. Any evaluation system should be frequent and authentic enough to give an accurate, representative view of teaching and learning.We have already established that a ‘once or twice a year’ classroom observation of a ‘show’ lesson is not an appropriate vehicle for making sound, helpful judgements about the quality of teaching and learning. Nor is it an adequate sample on which to base meaningful feedback for teachers, which might improve practice. Indeed, it may well have the opposite effect. Evaluations should be frequent and unannounced so that typical teaching and learning is seen and a culture of openness and transparency is encouraged and embedded in the school. Evaluations should not be based solely on classroom observation. Darling-Hammond calls for methods which draw on multiple sources of evidence about student learning, arguing that these are essential to get a fair gauge on what a teacher has accomplished with his or her students. Marzano (2013 p.13) supports this saying “student growth should be measured in multiple ways”. Little (2009) offers a number of additional methods including value-added models, self-reflection, interviews, student evaluation and portfolios. Mindful of No.3 above, it is worth reiterating that the system must also be manageable and meaningful.
Finding a system or an ‘instrument’ which will meet with the above principles is not easy. Teaching is a “complex and uncertain endeavour” (Sato and Lensmire 2009) and even the detailed forms or instruments used by many districts cannot capture its complexity. Conversely, some are over simplistic and miss out important aspects of instruction. However, Coe et al.(2014) states that If the assessments available to us are not good enough, we need to improve them. As Murphy (2013 p.18) observes, “although it doesn’t matter greatly which particular rubric a school chooses to evaluate its teachers, it is very important that it has one”. A principal owes it to his or her students and teachers to find a system which works for their school.