Elementary educator job satisfaction in the age of accountability

Abstract

Collegial Interactions Become Focused on Adjustments to Pedagogy common assessment measures to evaluate student progress through the generation of data points (CCSS Initiative, 2016). In 2011, the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education adopted an accountability system, the Educator Evaluation Framework, which includes the use of data points such as observations, lesson plans, feedback by administrators, and Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) data (Massachusetts Department of Education, 2017). The evaluative system is designed to develop excellence in the teaching profession. The intent of the Educator Evaluation Framework is as follows: • The promotion of student education, growth, and achievement through the provision of feedback for improvement, opportunities for professional growth, and clear structures for educator accountability (Massachusetts Department of Education, 2017) • The recording of facts and assessments for personnel decisions (Massachusetts Department of Education, 2017) Accountability measures have been part of educational practices as early as 1838, as educators were involved in the first stages of formal assessments of student achievement (National Education Association, n.d). Formally written testing was conducted to define aptitude in various areas such as intelligence, arithmetic, spelling, drawing, and reading from 1840 until the establishment of multiple-choice tests in 1930 (National Education Association, n.d). The application of high-speed computing methods allowed for the classification of students and Iowa tests became available to schools for student scoring (National Education Association, n.d).