Compares the validity of principals' judgments and teachers' self-ratings in an extensively developed program (North Carolina's Teacher Performance Appraisal Instrument), using a high-inference rating scale. Results did not support using principals' judgments on high-inference items when global inferences on teacher effectiveness are desired.…

Portfolios are an effective method to encourage teachers to evaluate their abilities and enhance their skills. Portfolios contain written documentation of planning, content or curriculum, organization and presentation method, type and extent of interactions with students and parents, assessment uses and methods, classroom-management approaches,…

Using data from state and academic reports, an independent committee of researchers has evaluated the Massachusetts Teacher Tests. Scores are found to be highly unreliable, and the tests are found to contain questionable content. Suspending use of the tests is recommended. (SLD)

Documents the practice of and attitudes to teacher assessment by Year Two teachers in England. Discusses assessment of process skills and the effects of assessment of children's learning and teachers' practice. Links findings with previous research and proposes a developmental model that describes and explains assessment approaches. (DSK)

This article explores the learning opportunities that standards-based portfolio assessment offers to promote teacher and faculty learning in teacher education. It discusses the impact on learning from two perspectives: that of teacher candidates and faculty using a paper-and-pencil approach for portfolio development, mentoring, and scoring; and…

This article draws on data from the authors' recent research project "The Impact of Performance Threshold Assessment on Teachers' Work", funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC R000239286) for two years from May 2001. Within its wider context of performance management the authors focused on "Threshold Assessment", employing a…

Since the announcement in 1999 of a plan to tie teachers' salary increases to student achievement by Denver Public Schools, there has been a flood of nationwide policy activity around teacher compensation. This paper examines pay plans in Denver, Toledo, Minneapolis, and New York City, offering a snapshot of the changing landscape of teacher…

The perspectives of three rural middle school principals as they implement Georgia's A Plus Education Reform Act of 2000 were investigated in this study. A case study approach was used, employing both within case and cross case analyses. Three interviews were conducted with each of the three participants, resulting in a total of nine interviews.…

It is difficult to estimate the percentage of examinees who pass National Teacher Evaluation (NTE) tests because many users of the tests require that examinees pass different combinations of tests or use different passing scores for each of the tests. This study first develops a taxonomy of state NTE requirements and then computes passing rates…

This paper compares the decision-making strategies which have been incorporated in the Teacher Performance Assessment Instruments in Georgia and the Assessments of Performance in Teaching developed for use in South Carolina. Although both instruments are designed for use with beginning teachers, the decision-making structure of these two…

Incentives to encourage teacher excellence for the purposes of teacher attraction, retention, improvement, and enhancement are examined in this report. Motivators involving monetary plans, career status, awards and recognition, professional responsibility, and workplace conditions are described, as well as the issues of cost, planning, and…

A review of the National Teacher Examinations (NTE) has focused on the Commons Examinations component. The Commons, now named the National Teacher Examinations Core Battery, tests general knowledge, communication skills, and professional knowledge in three separate tests. Users may select portions of the tests that best suit their needs at various…

This paper investigates the problem of developing judicially sound and workable standards for dismissing incompetent teachers. Numerous cases are cited to support the contention that there is a desperate need for stable standards of performance that will have the qualities necessary to withstand judicial scrutiny: (1) required teacher knowledge,…

Although research on bilingualism in the schools shows the importance of measuring both English and Spanish language skills regularly, the testing of Spanish falls behind in both quality and frequency. Concerted multidisciplinary cooperation among bilingual educators, linguists, and psychometricians is now needed to produce a variety of valid…

To make merit-pay plans work, a district's teacher-evaluation system must be both summative and formative--evaluating both for teacher outcomes and for progressive improvement. Only peer-mediated self-appraisal systems seem able to meet such a challenge. Fairly rewarded merit-pay plans depend on accurate teacher evaluations. However, teacher…