The ability to formatively assess for understanding in the midst of interacting with students is crucial for effective teaching, particularly so for Multilingual Learners (MLs) (Alvarez et al., 2014; Solano-Flores & Solterno-Gonzalez, 2011). However, teacher educators and researchers lack an understanding of how student teachers learn (or fail…

Purpose: School improvement and effectiveness depend substantially on teachers developing their professional competencies on an ongoing basis. Germany's new approach to school governance combines instruments borrowed from different theoretical concepts: teacher collaboration (in a sense of professional self-regulation with high autonomy) and…

Roaring Falls Unified School District (a pseudonym), an urban New Jersey district near NYC, was challenged by K-8 Multilingual Language Learners (MLLs) who lagged significantly behind general education students in English Language Arts (ELA). The District had roughly 12,000 students, of whom 93.0% were Hispanic, 26.2% were MLLs, and 32.0% were…

Purpose: Federal and state policymakers in the USA have sought to better differentiate the performance of K-12 teachers by enacting more rigorous evaluation policies. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether these policies are working as intended and explore whether district stressors such as funding, enrollment, and governance are…

An important challenge in evaluating the quality of teaching is to arrive at valid distinctions between teachers, particularly in the middle of the performance distribution. This study addressed this issue for the Chilean national teacher evaluation system. Mathematics teachers (N = 51) from the 2 middle adjacent performance categories, and their…

The study explored the evaluation of digital instructional materials (DIMs) by K-8 teachers of mathematics, positing that a useful perspective for evaluating DIMs by K-8 teachers of mathematics is considering how technology integrates with research-based practices for teaching mathematics. This paper describes the study that drew on the…

An increasing number of parents are opting-out their children from high-stakes. Accountability systems in education have used students' test scores to measure student learning, teacher effectiveness, and school district performance. Students who are opted-out of high-stakes tests are not being evaluated by the state tests, making their level of…

The purpose of this study was to identify considerations that influenced teachers' implementation of principals' evaluative feedback to improve instructional practices. The research question for this study was: What considerations contribute to teachers' applications of principals' evaluative feedback? Participants in this qualitative study…

For decades, policymakers deliberated whether student perception surveys (SPS) should be a component of teacher evaluation programmes in schools. However, much research has focused on SPS' reliability and validity, and little is known about teachers' interpretation of SPS or what preparation should be instituted before administering such surveys.…

Exploiting the potential that Assessment for Learning (AfL) offers to optimise student learning is contingent on both teachers' knowledge and use of AfL and the fidelity with which this translates into their daily classroom practices. Quantitative data derived from the use of an Assessment for Learning Audit Instrument (AfLAI) with a large sample…

The purpose of this research was to explore how principals in eight high-functioning elementary schools in one American school district balanced teacher supervision and evaluation in their role as an instructional leader. Using the theoretical framework of "wicked problems," to unpack the circular used to problematize teacher supervision…

At an international level, teachers' work is increasingly circumscribed and regulated. Notions of accountability have shifted from primarily inputs to primary outcomes, and investment in strengthening teacher performance evaluation has expanded. At the same time, investment in enhancing the quality of teacher education programs is contested in…

This study examined attitudes and beliefs regarding teacher evaluation of teachers and their school administrators in the state of New Jersey, USA. The sample included 33 school administrators and 583 Pre-K through 12th grade teachers from four high-poverty urban school districts (22 schools). Participant attitudes and beliefs were assessed using…

The paper presents results from the evaluation of the Teach for Bulgaria (TFB) program, which is part of the Teach for All global network. TFB activities have relevance for a variety of fast-track pathways to the teaching profession. The evaluation is based on a quasi-experimental assessment of teacher performance through student value-added…

In statehouses, school boards, and communities across the US, battles are raging over the direction of education policy--from the standards that are shaping what students learn to how test results are being used to judge a teacher's performance. These battles are being waged against a backdrop of shifting demographics, rapidly developing…