Each school system has a process for measuring and evaluating their teachers. In most districts, all teachers are evaluated by an administrator and provided feedback at least once annually. New teachers, however, typically have more than one evaluation. So why is it important to evaluate the teachers one has on staff?

In general, teacher evaluation refers to the formal process a school uses to review and rate teachers’ performance and effectiveness in the classroom. Ideally, the findings from these evaluations are used to provide feedback to teachers and guide their professional development. It is not meant as a “gotcha”, but rather a way for a teacher to improve their educational practices year to year. Traditionally, teacher evaluation systems relied heavily on classroom observations conducted by principals or other school administrators, sometimes with the help of rubrics or checklists that have been created by the school district. Samples of students’ work, teachers’ records and lesson plans, and other relevant factors were also often considered.

For some years, many believed that teachers should solely be evaluated by student test scores and not by the effectiveness of a teacher. This controversial belief brought lots of questions amongst educators. “Beginning in the 1990s and through the 2000s, analyses of year-to-year student-test data consistently showed that some teachers helped their students learn significantly more than did other teachers.” (edweek.org, 2015) Why has teacher-performance evaluation become such a central education issue? Teachers must be given the opportunity to perform successfully with the tools given to them by their colleagues, administrators, and district. If we want to mold new teachers into good teachers, they must be offered the resources necessary in order to have a fighting chance. This only strengthens the teaching profession for everyone across the board.

Today we know that relying on just classroom observations has not been enough in identifying and removing bad teachers and keeping good teachers on staff. “In the past, principals tended to have a laser focus trained solely on what the teacher was doing, every single minute of the visit—a by-product of what state evaluation systems asked them to do. But teachers, principals, and experts say that principals should pay attention to the classroom environment—what students are doing, what teachers are asking them to do, and the kinds of questions students are asking.” (edweek.org, 2019) One can learn a lot about the type of teacher you are based on what the classroom environment is like and how a teacher’s students respond to them.

The bottom line is, are evaluations important? Yes! It allows for growth, involvement, and success. “Teacher involvement and responsibility improve the quality of teacher evaluation” (ascd.org, 2011) I became the successful teacher that I am today because of my evaluations. It allowed me to become the teacher I was meant to be, learn from those around me, and to take in and perfect my craft from the administrators who took the time to really sit me down and provide innovative feedback. I look forward to my evaluations because I know I will only learn more and grow from them each time.

References:
Ascd. (n.d.). Chapter 2. A Brief History of Supervision and Evaluation. Retrieved June 2, 2020, from http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/110019/chapters/A-Brief-History-of-Supervision-and-Evaluation.aspx

Sawchuk, S. (2020, April 2). Teacher Performance Evaluation: Definitions, Research, Models, and More. Retrieved June 2, 2020, from https://www.edweek.org/ew/section/multimedia/teacher-performance-evaluation-issue-overview.html

Superville, D. R. (2020, April 22). 8 Ways to Make Teacher Evaluations Meaningful and Low-Stress. Retrieved June 2, 2020, from https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2019/10/16/feedback-for-teachers-8-ways-to-make.html