Overview
Measuring teacher effectiveness is difficult at best. There are myriad views on the best way to capture this element that is critically tied to student achievement. Where people agree is the fact that there needs to be a way to measure the extent to which teachers positively influence student learning. If we are able to measure a teacher’s influence on student learning, then we can learn more about specific aspects of teacher performance and its relationship to student achievement. The only way to capture this effect is to include measures of teacher effectiveness in the process of evaluating teachers. The tricky part is deciding which measures to use when evaluating teacher performance. Generally speaking, there are three categories of measures: performance based, portfolios, and value-added. Performance-based assessment involves observation and is set against performance standards; portfolios include a combination of performance based data and evidence of student learning; and value-added analysis looks at student outcomes over time. Each method has its benefits and shortcomings leading many to believe a combination of all three would be best.
General Questions
1. Are current measures adequate? Why or why not?
2. What student-level measures (test scores, other student work) would be useful? Why?
3. What classroom-level measures (observations, etc.) would be useful? Why?
4. What school-level data would be useful? Why?
5. Is the quality and availability of supports such as data/tracking infrastructure and training sufficient? Why or why not?
6. Are there any innovative practices in this area?
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