Teacher evaluation practices in our largest school districts: Are they measuring up to ?state-of-the-art? systems?

Ten years later: Findings from a replication of a study of teacher evaluation practices in our 100 largest school districts

“…Such national thrusts have underscored the commitment of scholars as well as educators in the field to more professional approaches to the assessment of educational personnel. Thus, the recent national focus on teacher evaluation raises questions about the extents to which national efforts may have affected teacher evaluation practices at the local district level since the earlier reporting by Ellett and Garland (1987). The results of the study reported here, combined with those from the previous study, provide historical perspective on local district trends in teacher evaluation practices that attempt to address these issues and concerns.…”

“…Local district teacher evaluation programs and practices have typically been slow to reflect newer findings from the research on teaching and learning and from current state-of-the-art knowledge bases on assessment (Ellett & Garland, 1987;Holley, 1979). In 1987, Ellett and Garland reported the results of a national survey of school district level teacher evaluation practices conducted in 1985 in the 100 largest school districts in the United States.…”

“…For example, 1) more emphasis was placed on the use of teacher evaluation data for summative (dismissal and remediation) rather than formative (professional development) purposes; 2) policy bases of local district evaluation systems were somewhat deficient in the areas of establishing performance standards and in implementing comprehensive training programs to train evaluators to make reliable judgments about teaching and learning in classrooms; 3) few systems allowed for the use of evaluators external to the school district or for the inclusion of peer teachers as assessors; and 4) local systems were slow to design procedures to accommodate the potential adverse effects of evaluation context variables on the reliability and credibility of evaluation data and processes. Results of the study indicated that these teacher evaluation systems and the philosophical basis on which local districts established such systems were neither greatly informed nor influenced by recent developments in large-scale teacher evaluation programs (Ellett & Garland, 1987).…”

“…During the past ten years and since the Ellett and Garland (1987) study, a large number of states have continued to develop and implement statewide programs for teacher evaluation (e.g., Louisiana, Connecticut, Texas, and others) with somewhat mixed success. In addition, there has been a renewed emphasis nationwide on improving education through the development of standards and assessments of teaching and learning in classrooms.…”

Evaluating educational support personnel: A conceptual and legal framework

“…As a result, we have acquired considerable sophistication in developing research-based evaluation criteria and procedures that reflect knowledge about effective teaching practices (see, for example, Buttram and Wilson, 1987;Denham, 1987;Ellett & Garland, 1987). However, as local school districts continue to develop district wide evaluation plans, voluntarily or in response to state mandates, educators face the challenge of designing and implementing evaluation criteria and procedures for all professional school personnel, including those whose primary responsibilities do not involve classroom teaching.…”