Title: Evaluations That Help Teachers Learn - Educational Leadership
Headings: Evaluations That Help Teachers Learn
Evaluations That Help Teachers Learn
The Problem
Why Do We Evaluate Teachers?
To Ensure Teacher Quality
Figure 1. Levels of Performance in Questioning and Discussion Techniques
To Promote Professional Development
Two in One
Getting from Here to There
Seeing Benefits in Chicago
Two Challenges
The Need for Trained Evaluators
Finding Time for Professional Conversations
A Thoughtful Approach
Endnote
KEYWORDS
Requesting Permission

Content: We can remedy these problematic characteristics by attending to some basic principles of assessment and teacher learning. First, it helps to be clear about why we even have teacher evaluation. Laws, of course, require it. But why are there laws? The first and most fundamental reason is because public schools are public institutions; they take public money, and the public has a right to expect high-quality teaching. But there are two more basic purposes. To Ensure Teacher Quality
Credibility in an evaluation system is essential. A principal or a superintendent must be able to say to the school board and the public, "Everyone who teaches here is good— and here's how I know." A teacher evaluation system that satisfies this requirement will include the following: