Students need great
teachers to learn to the best of their potential. New Jersey set out to ensure
that only highly-qualified and effective teachers earn tenure and instruct our
students. In 2012, the State Legislature
unanimously passed a law requiring new teacher and principal evaluations to be
implemented by this 2013–14 school year. AchieveNJ is designed to recognize
those who excel, identify those who need additional support, and provide
meaningful feedback and professional development to all teachers. There are
seven performance standards associated with the “make-up” of a successful
teacher. These are the basis of teacher evaluation models and are as follows: professional
knowledge, instructional planning, iinstructional
delivery, aassessment
of learning, fostering a
positive learning environment, exhibiting professionalism, and overall student progress.
Teacher performance be documented with observations, student learning objectives, documentation logs, student artifacts (which provide
evidence of meeting certain standards), and student surveys.
Teacher performance be rated by four point rating scale proposed by NJ.
1.Highly
Effective-Teacher maintains performance that consistently and considerably
surpasses established standard.
2. Effective- consistent with the schools mission
& goals.
3. Partially Effective- performance below
established standard, inconsistent with schools mission/goals.
4. Ineffective- Consistently performs below
established standards
The modern teacher evaluation template places inflexible timelines on the
conditions for removal of tenure. Typical
legislation dictates that teacher tenure either can or must be revoked and the
teacher dismissed after 2 consecutive years of being rated ineffective (where
tenure can only be achieved after 3 consecutive years of being rate effective).
One of the approved systems is the Marzano Teacher
Evaluation Model was developed by Robert Marzano. The sole focus of this model
is that, “Every teacher will increase their expertise to sufficient levels
every year to move student achievement.” The Marzano method studies the nuances
of teachers that effects students’ achievement. It works on a developmental
continuum and is research-based. Furthermore, the model is set up to support
the idea of teachers growing over time. There are 4 domains. All are connected
to student achievement. Domain 1:
Classroom Strategies and Behaviors. Domain 2: Planning and Preparing. Domain
3: Reflecting on Teaching. Domain 4: Collegiality and Professionalism.
Another widely used model is the Danielson Framework
for Teaching. This method operates with two broad purposes. The first is quality
assurance, meaning, “How do we ensure the most qualified teachers are in front
of students on a daily basis”. The second purpose is professional learning, (i.e
making sure the evaluations are used to help teachers grow). A clear definition
of what good teaching is, along with levels of performance can help foster
successful teachers. Evaluations can be used as a coaching tool to help
teachers move to the next level. Instruments and procedures, Procedures for
collecting observations, Teachers know what they are evaluated on.
A benefit of using teacher evaluation models are
that effective teachers will receive
tenure, ineffective one will not. Also, teachers will now receive explicit
quality feedback that provides a clear perspective of performance and guidance
on setting professional development goals. They can use this feedback
constructively to improve their practices and in turn become more effective
teachers. The main drawback of the new teacher evaluation system is that a teachers rating and tenure status also rely on the results of student performance, including standardized test scores. Teachers do have control over the quality of their teaching practices, but not their situations of their students that may impact learning. Also, the cost to implement the approved teacher evaluation models is quite high. Many would argue, this is a cost that would be better spent elsewhere in a school budget.
http://www.njea.org/issues-and-political-action/evaluation/evaluation-instruments
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