Title: The Power of an Effective Teacher and Why We Should Assess It
Headings: Chapter 1. The Power of an Effective Teacher and Why We Should Assess It
Linking Teacher Evaluation and Student Learning
Chapter 1. The Power of an Effective Teacher and Why We Should Assess It
Qualities of Effective Teachers
Impact of Teacher Effectiveness on Student Achievement
Highly Qualified Versus Highly Effective
Promoting Teacher Effectiveness
Assessing Teacher Effectiveness
Concerns
Possibilities
Conclusion
Endnotes
Requesting Permission

Content: Dedicate extra time to instructional preparation and reflection. Maximize instructional time via effective classroom management and organization. Enhance instruction by varying instructional strategies, activities, and assignments. Present content to students in a meaningful way that fosters understanding. Monitor students' learning by utilizing pre- and postassessments, providing timely and informative feedback, and reteaching material to students who did not achieve mastery. Demonstrate effectiveness with the full range of student abilities in their classrooms, regardless of the academic diversity of the students. For a complete listing of these qualities with references, please refer to Appendix A.
Not only does a reasonable consensus exist on what effective teachers do to enhance student learning, but also meta-analyses by researchers such as Marzano, Pickering, and Pollock (2001) have begun to quantify the average effects of specific instructional strategies. When properly implemented, instructional strategies such as identifying similarities and differences, summarizing and note taking, and reinforcing effort and providing recognition can result in percentile gains of 29–45 points in student achievement. 2 Such an increase would mean that the score of an average student at the 50th percentile might rise to the 79th or even the 95th percentile with the effective use of selected instructional strategies. While teaching undeniably will remain an art, there is also a science to it that we are only beginning to aggressively apply to practice.