Running head: LITERATURE REVIEW - TEACHER EVALUATIONS

The Effectiveness of the Current Teacher Appraisals System Terry Gallivan Liberty University EDU 518 April 25, 2012

LITERATURE REVIEW - TEACHER EVALUATIONS Abstract The teacher appraisal system is under scrutiny as to its viability for an accurate

assessment of teacher performance. The current evaluation system may be skewed to the bias of the appraisers outcome of either a high or low performance ratings. The purpose of this literature review is to determine if there are any additional factors needed to more accurately determine a teachers performance rating. What factors leads to an unbiased teacher performance evaluation? The research has just begun so we must consider the jury still out for deliberations on the matter of how to effectively evaluate a teachers performance.

Key terms: Challenges, Characteristics, Effective Teacher, Effective Teaching, NCLB Act, PDAS, Teacher Performance, Remedies, Teacher Evaluations, Teacher Performance

LITERATURE REVIEW - TEACHER EVALUATIONS The Effectiveness of the Current Teacher Appraisals System Each year teachers are evaluated to determine the effectiveness of teaching skills in the classroom. The political agenda for No Child Left Behind premise brought forth one major

contributor, the Carnegie Forum, for the creation of the current appraisal system foundation. The committee developed the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) in 1987. The purpose of NBPTS was to set high standards for the teaching profession regarding what teachers should know and be able to do, to certify teachers who could meet these standards, and to cause continued educational reform. (NBPTS. 1989, p.1). Each state is given the opportunity to construct its own teacher appraisal system. The current Texas measure for the teacher evaluation has been established using the Professional Development and Appraisal System (PDAS). The intent of PDAS is to discover the current level of teaching expertise and how to improve development of skills in the classroom through continued professional developmental opportunities. The purpose of this review will be to launch an understanding of how the current PDAS evaluation affects teachers. Are there additional factors needed to more accurately and fairly determine a teachers performance rating? What leads to an unbiased teacher performance evaluation? Finally, suggest alternatives to current appraisal system. Defining the Key Terms No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) In order to develop an understanding of the magnitude in pressure a teacher must go through in the evaluation process an overview of NCLB Act needs to be defined. NCLB Acts purpose is to address educational needs by mandating an equal playing field for all students. The primary intent of the Act is to hire teachers who are highly qualified in their field of study. This influential federal legislation defines highly qualified teachers in terms of the background

LITERATURE REVIEW - TEACHER EVALUATIONS characteristics they bring into the classroom, including state certification (not including emergency, provisional, or temporary licenses), a minimum of a bachelors degree, and for secondary teachersdemonstrated subject area competence. (Palardy & Rumberger, 2008, p.

1). In determining the highly qualified status of a teacher does not insure teachers are effectively improving student achievement in the classroom. The NCLB requires all Title I schools to meet state mandated requirements which includes a state produced student achievement test. As defined by the United States Department of Education (2002, p. 45); Title I schools consist of a minimum of thirty-five percent low income families as determined by the free or reduced lunch program. Texas PDAS The Texas Teacher Education Agencys (TEA) PDAS is categorized into domains for the appraiser to rank teacher performance. PDAS is divided among seven domains with subcategories for clarifications of the domains purpose (s). The domains are a) active, successful student participation in the learning process, b) learner-centered instruction, c) evaluation and feedback on student progress, d) management of student discipline, instructional strategies, time, and materials, e) professional communication, f) professional development, g) compliance with policies, operating procedures and requirements, and h) improvement of academic performance of all students on the campus. (TEA, 2005, p.41-50). The PDAS intent is a subjective (opinion) evaluation should relate to an objective (student achievement) result. Thematic Review of the Literature Current Evaluation Issues Researchers have endeavored to bring to light the need to improve the evaluation system of teachers. A recurring issue is whether the current system is effective in determining a

LITERATURE REVIEW - TEACHER EVALUATIONS teachers efficacy in an equitable manner. The consensus is the evaluation process is unsuccessful in differentiating between a principals evaluation and the actual student achievement outcome. It has been shown to some degree the evaluations are biased in nature and without substantial evidence of student achievement. States have established some guidelines for evaluating the effectiveness of a teacher by using student achievement and evaluations from the principal, peers and parents. The function of evaluations is to assist teachers in becoming better teachers. The ultimate goal in evaluating teachers is to create an awareness of their strengths and weakness with helpful feedback. Teachers who are considered exemplary should be able to mentor those who are not. Teachers who are determined in need of assistance should have opportunities for individualized professional development. Current statistics show the majority of teachers are ranked as proficient with few teachers at the top or bottom of the scale. Evaluation outcomes which are based on merit pay create a sense the teacher needs to be a principals favorite to be rewarded, opposed to the actual student achievement obtained. These types of evaluations may not be reflective of actual effectiveness and has the possibility of creating animosity between administrators and the teaching staff. The evaluation system needs to be restructured to avoid situations of bias opinions on the part of the evaluator. A criterion needs to be established to ensure an impartial objective assessment of the teachers strengths and weaknesses is representative of the student achievement. It is still indistinguishable as to whether the principals evaluation is solely based on a subjective opinion of performance or if other factors weigh into their decision of effectiveness. Current appraisers

may have a tendency to view a teachers style as ineffective as compared to their own perception of what makes an exemplary teacher. It must be considered a teacher may be highly rated because (he or) she has a group of students who are well behaved, cohesive, and highly

LITERATURE REVIEW - TEACHER EVALUATIONS motivated in ways that cannot be controlled for using regression analysis and available data. (Rockoff & Speroni, 2011, p. 688) This same teacher may not be able to produce the same

results with a different set of students which are considered to be more of a challenge to instruct. Due to public accountability; the current evaluation system has created increased stress, anxiety, fear and mistrust amongst teachers and the administration. Additionally, the evaluations have limited growth, flexibility and creativity needed to truly be an exemplary teacher. Teacher evaluation systems aim to provide stakeholders (or educational customers) with information about how well, and in what ways, teachers are able to perform their jobs. The intention is (a) to assuage public fears that incompetent teachers will not be allowed to remain in the classroom and (b) to improve performance amongst classroom teachers to improve student achievement outcomes. (Larsen, 2005, p. 293). The end result is teachers have been insinuated to teach to the test with little regard to the true art or purpose of teaching the students effectively. The policies, additionally, require teachers to create a lesson for forty-minutes but in reality this does not represent an accurate representation of the teachers typical daily lesson on an average day. These evaluations do neglect the needs of students in their gaining a concrete knowledge base for educational success. Essentially, the current determination of a teachers performance comes down to a test and less than a few hours of observations during a school year. There is ample research evidence to suggest that many of these policies have had a detrimental effect upon teachers. Teachers are spending more and more time and energy preparing for evaluation, time that could be used preparing and teaching lessons and working with their students. Stress and anxiety levels have increased and school relations have deteriorated with the development of new cultures of fear and mistrust. (Larsen, 2005, p. 293). What can be done to create a belief the appraisal system is meeting the students needs with integrity and objectiveness?

LITERATURE REVIEW - TEACHER EVALUATIONS Flaws in Determining Teacher Effectiveness Many administrators consider the teachers certification and background in the initial interview process. Research has confirmed that education background is essential for content knowledge but has little in determining the teaching abilities in student learning process. The main purpose in the present day teacher appraisal system is the accountability to determine teacher weaknesses and weed out the ineffective or unpopular teachers. Performance appraisal systems rely upon lists of competency statements that are descriptors of the required skills,

knowledge and attitudes that teachers are expected to have. Each competency usually has a series of look for statements that provide concrete examples of observable behaviors characteristic of that competency. Such checklists measure decontextualized skills and knowledge rather than holistic, contextualized understandings and teaching practices. (Larsen, 2005, p. 298). In this type of accountability model teachers do not receive compensation for an excelling performance nor do they receive any disciplinary measures for obtaining a below expectations. It is true, however, teachers who obtain a below expectation overall are placed on a growth plan but this is rarely the case. Teachers respectfully have reservations as to the authenticity of objectivity involved in determining the outcome of such evaluations. The accountability model does not reflect accurately on student focused learning obtained but instead the less than two hours on average being observed in a single school year. It seems little emphasis is given to the teachers attitudes which are directly related to student achievement. In another words, does the teacher believe all students can learn through their teaching style? If not; is the teacher willing to change their style of teaching to match the learning styles of the students? This essentially comes down to can administrators and principals prefer highly effective techniques over a highly qualified background? The most obvious choice should be the teaching characteristics a teacher processes

LITERATURE REVIEW - TEACHER EVALUATIONS in relevance to their effectiveness in student achievement. The characteristics noted are the teachers practices, attitudes and beliefs. Although, there are many valid methods to evaluate a teacher, appearances are that the administrators observations and the occasional walk-through carry more weight in determining the effectiveness of a teacher than objective data. At present; there is a pendulum swing toward the subjective administrative appraisal with little emphasis given to other valuable subjective inputs as well as worthy objective input. The present system tends to lend way to a political agenda for the administrator while overlooking the teacher who does not match the desired teaching style, essentially teaching against the district and school cookie cutter system. This same teacher does create a class where success is the norm and failure is corrected instead placing blame elsewhere. Once a summative evaluation has been finalized a teacher currently receives a ranking of exceeds, proficient, below expectations or a

combination thereof. The overall usefulness of the evaluation is no more than a smoke screen in which popularity seems to have a strong hold thus creating an atmosphere where teachers have doubts about the reliability of the results and merits therein. Challenges to Improve Evaluations The concurrence of research dictates a need for change in the teachers appraisal system. Several interesting resolutions have been investigated or have been researched to determine viability. The major consideration in developing new policies for evaluating teacher performance is providing an accurate objective process balanced with unbiased subjectivity components. This must be a top priority due to the prejudicial suspicions teachers have in regards to the current accountability system. The control factors established must be tangible across the grade levels including grades where no testing currently exists. A concrete absolute standard must be instituted to create a sense of fairness among teachers. The training of

LITERATURE REVIEW - TEACHER EVALUATIONS appraisers must have a balance and check mechanism in place on various levels - state, district and school. If student achievement is the ultimate accolade should not the teacher evaluation focus on the student learning attained during the school year? After all the intentional purpose for teaching is the success of each student in the classroom not the political agenda of fulfilling ones own career advances. A concern among teachers is the accountability of test scores in comparison with students of differing capabilities; therefore, a system in which the teacher is only evaluated by their students achievement during the current school year needs to be established. Another resource overlooked is the students voice in the effectiveness of their teachers ability to teach the lesson. Currently, teacher accountability is viewed in a negative realm with little incentive for being the best teacher and few tangible consequences for not improving teaching skills as long as a proficient ranking is obtained. There seems to be a consensus teachers are expressing uncertainty with the appraisals presenting a consistent,

objective and fair representation of their effectiveness in the classroom. In stating this evaluators must be extensively trained to assess teachers performance in the least prejudicial manner. Aspects of the Effective Teacher Several characteristics have been recognized as common traits among the exemplary teachers success in a most advantageous learning environment. Studies have been consulted over the last three decades to establish a firm hold on what traits a teacher should have in order to be effective in the classroom. The debate continues with various deviations but there will always remain similarities n the list. Robert Walkers fifteen year longitudinal study was qualitative and quasi-researched in nature to establish characteristics of an effective teacher. He concluded the following twelve traits with sub-categories defined what the students perceived to be characteristics of the exemplary teacher. The twelve effective teaching characteristics are

LITERATURE REVIEW - TEACHER EVALUATIONS preparedness, optimistic attitude, high expectations, creativeness, equality, personal touch,

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cultivated a sense of belonging, compassion, sense of humor, respectful, forgiving and willing to admit to mistakes. The characteristics each had a breakdown of meaning, for example, forgiving equals not holding a grudge or personal touch equals entering the students world (outside activities.) How one perceives these qualities differs from school culture to school culture and therefore, must be evaluated on an individual basis. Can a teacher be evaluated on the simple premise of being dedicated, creative or inspirational to the learning environment or is there more to being an effective teacher? Does being an effective teacher simply mean believing all students are capable of learning? Teach for America evaluates teacher candidates based on seven criterions. The teacher must be high achieving in their specialization regardless of students level of knowledge. The teacher must take responsibility for student outcomes without placing blame elsewhere. Critical thinking is crucial to avoid simply dealing with after effects of a cause that could have been foreseen. Organizational skills are a necessity to be able to multitask the many duties required for teaching. The ability to motivate others is a key to creating a unified learning environment. Respect for all individuals regardless of any single differences they may exhibit. Lastly, the shared values of the learning community must be believed whole heartily. Teach for America has had success in producing many effective teachers but others have used other traits to make the same determination for success. Other educational communities have evaluated the effectiveness of a teacher based on the acceptance of accountability, top priority of student learning and the continued professional development to improve on their current expertise. The Marzanos Dimensions of Learning Model holds the belief effective teaching relates to (a) attitudes and perceptions about learning, (b) acquisition and integration of knowledge, (c) extension and refinement of knowledge, (d) meaningful use of

LITERATURE REVIEW - TEACHER EVALUATIONS knowledge, and (e) productive habits of mind. (Yost, 2009, p. 22). A final criterion is the Project Achieves views on the effective teacher traits. Project Achieve has five elements

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including attitudes, knowledge application, extension of knowledge, using the knowledge and the habits of mind. Regardless of what decisive factors are used to determine the exemplary teacher traits the true element is the success of the students being instructed. Prospective Remedies to Improve Teacher Evaluations The hypothesis for any governmental policies regarding the restructure of the current teacher evaluation system must be researched through multiple studies to ensure its validity and impact on the students being instructed. The research viewed in this literature review reveals several opportunities for creating such a viable evaluation system. The most extreme and costly is the Connecticuts appraisal system. The teachers are required to compile a magnitude of support documentation to be evaluated by multiple external assessors. The documentation includes portfolios, lesson logs, videotaped lessons, examples of student work, and self reflection. Although, this can create an overwhelming added workload to the teacher it does bring to light a need for the evaluation to be taken out of the hands of the administration. It, additionally, eliminates personal bias between the administrator and teacher. This process now leans the pendulum toward a more balanced performance evaluation with concrete documentation being subjectively evaluated. Another consideration to recognize is the valuable judgment of the students is essentially under-utilized until post education has ensued. Students have been underestimated in their ability to determine which teachers are able to effectively teach regardless of class population. The concept of students evaluating their teacher brings concerns about the evaluation being basically a popularity contest. In reality; there are ways to weed out certain student bias based on follow-up questions. The bottom line is successful

LITERATURE REVIEW - TEACHER EVALUATIONS

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students obviously give legitimately higher evaluations with a greater value given to purpose of the survey. Students with lower grades may give a lower scored evaluation but the follow-up questions will give insight to the contributory factors and possible areas for the teacher to improve. The accountability of student test scores should be a major portion of the evaluation process since the purpose of determining exemplary teachers should be based on the success of the students. Tests scores should not be the state mandated test but rather a pre-test given within the first or second week of school and a post-test covering the same concepts as the pre-test at the end of the school year. Possibly a progress test at mid-semester would be beneficial to make any necessary adjustments not readily discerned by the teacher. The teachers could then be placed in groups based on the objective student achievement alone. The appraisers could continue with the current subjective evaluation system but upon the results of the test compare the findings of the observations with the results of the test to eliminate any bias. The end result would be a fair and just judgment of the effectiveness of the teacher and would remove any chance of prejudicial issues concerning individual personalities. Conclusion The purpose of this literature review was to determine if there are any additional factors needed to more accurately determine a teachers performance rating and what leads to an unbiased teacher performance evaluation. The answer to the questions dictates a need for the current evaluation system to be restructured to include an objective (student achievement) component with a less bias subjective (opinionated) component. Student input on their personal success would be beneficial to determining teacher effectiveness. Lesson videos assessed by extensively trained external appraisers would elevate any personal bias generated by administrators. Testing all grade levels with a pre-test and post-test would produce a more

LITERATURE REVIEW - TEACHER EVALUATIONS equable objective outcome. Research studies need to be implemented to test the proposed additions to evaluating the effectiveness of teachers in the classroom for student achievement. One suggestion to a qualitative study would be to select schools with a variety of performance levels on the state mandated test to participate in an improved evaluation system. The ultimate

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outcome for the teacher evaluation system must be student centered foremost in order to provide an educational environment where success and life-long learning is the quest not the dream.

LITERATURE REVIEW - TEACHER EVALUATIONS References Allington, R. (2002). What I've learned about effective reading instruction from a decade of

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studying exemplary elementary classroom teachers. Phi Delta Kappan, 83 (10), 740-747. Berry, B., Daughtrey, A., & Wieder, A. (2009). Teaching effectiveness and the conditions that matter most in high-needs schools: A policy brief. Center for Teaching Quality, 11, 1-14. Goe, L., Bell, C., & Little, O. (2008). Approaches to evaluating teacher effectiveness: A research synthesis. National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality, June, 1-103. Gordon, R., Kane, T. J. & Staiger, D. O. (2006). Identifying effective teachers using performance on the job. Policy Brief Series (Hamilton Project), 1-7. Kee, A. N. (2012). Feelings of preparedness among alternatively certified teachers: What is the role of program features? Journal of Teacher Education, 63(1), 23-38. Larsen, M. A. (2005). A critical analysis of teacher evaluation policy trends. Australian Journal of Education, 49(3), 292-305. Malikow, M. (2006). Effective teacher study. National Forum of Teacher Education Journal Electronic, 16(3E), 1-9. Monyatsi, P., Steyn, T., & Kamper, G. (2006). Teacher perceptions of the effectiveness of teacher appraisal in Botswana. South African Journal of Education, 26(3), 427-441. National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (1989). Toward high and rigorous standards for the teaching profession: initial policies and perspectives of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. The Board, Detroit, Mich Palardy, G. J., & Rumberger, R. W. (2008). Teacher effectiveness in first grade: the importance of background qualifications, attitudes, and instructional practices for student learning. American Educational Research Association, 30(2), 111-140.

LITERATURE REVIEW - TEACHER EVALUATIONS Ramaekers, S., Van Keulen, H., Kremer, W., Pilot, A., & Van Beukelen, P. (2011). Effective teaching in case-based education: Patterns in teacher behavior and their impact on the students clinical problem solving and learning. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 23(3), 303-313 Rockoff, J. E., & Speroni, C. (2011). Subjective and objective evaluations of teacher effectiveness. Labour of Economics, 18(5), 687-696. Samek, L., Kim, Y. M., Casbon, J., Caskey, M. M., Greene, W. L., & Musser, P. M. (2010). Well-prepared middle school teachers: Common ground or subtle divide between

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practitioners and university faculty in the State of Oregon, United States. KEDI Journal of Educational Policy, 7(2), 273-295. Sandholtz, J. H. (2011). Preservice teachers' conceptions of effective and ineffective teaching practices. Texas Education Quarterly ,3, 27-47. Texas Education Agency - TEA (2005). Professional development and appraisal system teacher manual. http://www5.esc13.net/pdas/docs/PDASTeacherManual.pdf United States Department of Education (2002). Public law 107110. http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/107-110.pdf, 1 670. Walker, R. J. (2008). Twelve characteristics of an effective teacher. Educational Horizons, 6168. Yost, D., Vogel, R., & Rosenberg, M. (2009). Transitioning from Teacher to Instructional Leader. Middle School Journal, 40(3), 20-27