Measuring Teacher Effectiveness in Physical Education

Abstract

This article summarizes the research base on teacher effectiveness in physical education from a historical perspective and explores the implications of the recent emphasis on student performance and teacher observation systems to evaluate teachers for physical education. The problems and the potential positive effects of using student performance scores as well as establishing a comprehensive evaluation program are explored with supportive evidence that some level of accountability is necessary in our field to make significant change.

Time to Demonstrate How We Impact Student Learning

“…This commentary examines 3 articles by Rink (2013), McKenzie and Lounsbery (2013), and Ward (2013), who each take a different perspective on measuring physical educators' effectiveness. The commentary, written from the standpoint of a public school district PE administrator, compares and contrasts the viewpoints and possible outcomes of each approach.…”

What They Think About How They Are Evaluated: Perspectives of New York State Physical Educators on Teacher Evaluation Policy

“…Physical educators can use student results from a performance-based assessment, written test, or fitness test, any of which must be approved by both NYSED and the local district. Physical educators may also be evaluated on the basis of student performance on the State' s English Language Arts (ELA) or mathematics tests (Rink, 2013). While research on VAMs and related teacher evaluation schemes is fairly extensive (Baker, Oluwole, & Green, 2013), we know of no studies examining how value-added models of teacher evaluation are affecting physical educators.…”

“…While research on VAMs and related teacher evaluation schemes is fairly extensive (Baker, Oluwole, & Green, 2013), we know of no studies examining how value-added models of teacher evaluation are affecting physical educators. Further, with 60 percent of states utilizing this type of metric for teacher effectiveness (see Rink, 2013), it is important to examine the effects of this policy more closely.…”

“…(Trost & Van Der Mars, 2009, p. 60) Educators have thus lamented the "diversion of resources away from physical education to 'tested' subjects" (Ennis, 2011, p. 16). School administrators may choose to further reduce PE offerings and schedule more time for the academic content areas that are tested (Ennis, 2011;Rink, 2013). And in response to the federal government' s RTTT program, 30 states now use student test scores as a significant component of a teacher' s evaluation (Rink, 2013), raising the stakes associated with student testing even higher (Baker, Oluwole, & Green, 2013).…”

“…School administrators may choose to further reduce PE offerings and schedule more time for the academic content areas that are tested (Ennis, 2011;Rink, 2013). And in response to the federal government' s RTTT program, 30 states now use student test scores as a significant component of a teacher' s evaluation (Rink, 2013), raising the stakes associated with student testing even higher (Baker, Oluwole, & Green, 2013). This may have implications for PE programs across the country, and given the limited time afforded physical educators to spend with their students, it might encourage instructors to demonstrate student cognitive growth via paper and pencil tests instead of psychomotor or physical growth through performance-based assessments (Seymour & Garrison, 2015).…”