Guilford County (North Carolina) Schools, a newly consolidated district, trained principals to become better evaluators of teachers' performance and develop individually tailored instructional improvement strategies. Project H.E.L.P. (Helping Evaluators Lift Performance) improved many teachers' effectiveness and trimmed 134 substandard performers…

Critical issues addressed in the literature with regard to teacher evaluation, appraisal instruments, and their use are reviewed. The focus of the study is to provide ideas and suggestions on improving the evaluation process, something best achieved by matching the appropriate instrument with that which it purports to measure. (SLD)

Abolition of the probationary year for British teachers in 1991 was short-lived, with new requirements for setting induction standards, monitoring performance, administering assessment, and deregistering new teachers introduced in the 1998 Teaching and Higher Education Act. A more imaginative and reality-based alternative is needed. (Contains 94…

Pedagogical agents are gaining acceptance as effective learning tools (Baylor & Ryu, 2003; Moreno, Mayer, Spires & Lester 2001; Moreno, 2004). The increase in the use of agents highlights the need for standardized measurements for evaluating user performance in these environments. While learning gains are a primary variable of interest in such…

As a person who worked for more than twenty years at Beida, I must say I entertain quite complicated feelings about Beida?s current reform. First of all, I am still somewhat in the fold, and it is inevitable that an emotional patina would be involved. More important, the university's reform itself is too complicated, or I should say that the…

This study reviews the criteria for assessing reflective thinking, and investigates how the process of reflective thinking develops in preservice teachers. Reflections of preservice teachers are assessed from two perspectives: content and depth. The findings include variations in the content, and that the pace at which reflective thinking deepens…

Legislation passed during the 2001 Iowa legislative session established the Student Achievement and Teacher Quality Program, Iowa Code Section 284.12(1). This legislation requires the Iowa Department of Education (DE) to annually report the statewide progress on the following: (1) Student achievement scores in mathematics and reading at the fourth…

A study determined whether videotaping preservice teachers' instruction lessons in early literacy methods courses was valuable to them in assessing their teaching and how best to develop a video portfolio for assessment purposes. Subjects, 10 kindergarten through fourth grade preservice teachers enrolled in three consecutive methods courses,…

Behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS), a new quantitative method of employee performance evaluation, is advocated for teacher evaluation. Development of a BARS consists generally of five steps: a representative sample of potential raters generates the scales; the group identifies the broad qualities to be evaluated; the group formulates…

Analyses were conducted replicating pilot work examining the feasibility of using the Louisiana's educational assessment data in concert with the Louisiana Educational Assessment Data System (LEADS) database and other associated databases to assess teacher preparation programs. The degree of matching across years and the degree of matching between…

This book discusses four approaches to incorporating student achievement in teacher evaluation. Seven chapters discuss: (1) "Teacher Evaluation and Student Achievement: An Introduction to the Issues"; (2) "What is the Relationship between Teaching and Learning?" (e.g., whether teachers are responsible for student learning and…

The rationale for the role of state educational agencies in certifying teachers, the National Teacher Examinations (NTE) program and the new NTE Core Battery are discussed. State certification in Arkansas, Florida and Oklahoma, Louisiana's consideration, and the District Court of South Carolina decision concerning NTE use for certification are…

The principal has a duty to assess the worth (make a summative evaluation) of the various parts of the organization, including teachers, and the further responsibility for making provision for the formative evaluation of the teaching staff with a view to assisting them in their personal and professional growth. (Author)

A method is proposed for developing a universitywide faculty evaluation system while retaining the integrity of evaluations of each individual's performance. Suggestions parallel efforts to alter faculty evaluation at Northwest Missouri State University (Maryville). (SLD)

Identifies some issues emerging from Barnet College's involvement in the United Kingdom's National Pilot appraisal Scheme for Further Education. Explores varying perceptions of both appraisers and appraisees, focusing on individual staff member and special interest group reactions. Only 14 percent of staff surveyed felt that the process was…