Accountability Report Roundup

Teacher Evaluation

By Stephen Sawchuk — October 12, 2010 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

A report from the New Teacher Project offers states and districts a series of standards to help them overhaul their teacher-evaluation instruments.

According to the report, school leaders should evaluate teachers at least once a year against performance standards that are precise, detailed, and leave little room for different interpretations by teachers and leaders. Also, the report suggests, they should incorporate multiple measures of teacher performance, and the measures should be weighted most heavily on objective evidence that students are learning.

Teachers should garner one of four or five possible ratings at the end of the year, the report adds, but they should be engaged in conversations throughout the year about their performance. And evaluation results should factor into decisions about tenure, compensation, promotion, and dismissal.

The report also recommends districts survey teachers regularly to determine whether teachers feel they are receiving useful feedback in their evaluations and whether they are confident that the system is fair and accurate.

A version of this article appeared in the October 13, 2010 edition of Education Week as Teacher Evaluation

Events

School Climate & Safety K-12 Essentials Forum Strengthen Students’ Connections to School
Join this free event to learn how schools are creating the space for students to form strong bonds with each other and trusted adults.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Student Well-Being Webinar
Reframing Behavior: Neuroscience-Based Practices for Positive Support
Reframing Behavior helps teachers see the “why” of behavior through a neuroscience lens and provides practices that fit into a school day.
Content provided by Crisis Prevention Institute
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Mathematics Webinar
Math for All: Strategies for Inclusive Instruction and Student Success
Looking for ways to make math matter for all your students? Gain strategies that help them make the connection as well as the grade.
Content provided by NMSI

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Accountability Education Secretary: Standardized Tests Should No Longer Be a 'Hammer'
But states won't ease accountability requirements until federal law tells them to do so, policy experts say.
5 min read
Close up of a student holding pencil and writing the answer on a bubble sheet assessment test with blurred students at their desks in the background
iStock/Getty
Accountability Timeline: How Federal School Accountability Has Waxed and Waned
From its origins in the 1990s to the most-recent tack, see how the federal approach to accountability has shifted.
4 min read
President George W. Bush, left, participates in the swearing-in ceremony for the Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, center, at the U.S. Dept. of Education on Jan. 31, 2005 in Washington. On the far right holding a bible is her husband Robert Spellings.
President George W. Bush, left, participates in the swearing-in ceremony for the Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, center, at the U.S. Dept. of Education on Jan. 31, 2005 in Washington. On the far right holding a bible is her husband Robert Spellings.
AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais
Accountability School Accountability Is Restarting After a Two-Year Pause. Here's What That Means
For a moment, the COVID-19 pandemic succeeded in doing what periodic protests about school accountability couldn't: Halting it.
10 min read
Illustration of a gauge.
4zevar/iStock/Getty
Accountability Opinion Let's Take a Holistic Approach to Judging Schools
Parents wouldn't judge their kids based on a single factor. So, says Ron Berger of EL Education, why must schools use a lone test score?
8 min read
Images shows colorful speech bubbles that say "Q," "&," and "A."
iStock/Getty