This article analyses the Integrated Quality Management System (IQMS), an agreement reached in 2003 between the South African Education Department and the major teacher organisations in the country by using discourse analysis. The IQMS was scheduled to be implemented in public schools in 2004. Three discursive tensions are identified and…

Parent or guardian perceptions play a specialized role in the evaluation of school teachers. Parents are important stakeholders in teacher success, they are in some instances partners in the teachers' work, parents have unique personal information about student learning, and they can report on the teacher duties to inform parents about the…

In the twenty-first century, school improvement is the focal point for educational leadership, in which the school building administrator is recognized as the catalyst for this necessary improvement. Within the area of teacher evaluation, the evaluation tools, along with the amount of time, format, and feedback, have changed dramatically from the…

This paper focuses on the validity of the research conducted under the leading paradigm in the evaluation of teaching in higher education. Messick's framework on validity is used to identify the strengths and limitations of the research, mostly centered on the study of student ratings of instruction. Critical issues that need to be addressed by…

Evaluation of teacher performance is usually done with the use of ratings made by students, peers, and principals or supervisors, and at times, self-ratings made by the teachers themselves. The trouble with this practice is that it is obviously subjective, and vulnerable to what Glass and Martinez call the "politics of teacher…

Digital video cameras are part of the evolution of multimedia digital products that have positive applications for educators, students, and industry. Multimedia digital video can be utilized by any personal computer and it allows the user to control, combine, and manipulate different types of media, such as text, sound, video, computer graphics,…

This paper describes efforts to design an evaluation system that has as its primary objective helping schools effect positive change through the Accelerated Schools Project. Three characteristics were deemed essential: (1) that the evaluation be useful and meaningful; (2) that it be sensitive to local conditions; and (3) that evaluations of…

The Educational Testing Service has initiated the development of a new series of tests to be used as part of the process states use to license or certify their teachers. Stage I of this new generation of tests will determine whether teachers possess an acceptable level of competence in the enabling skills the beginning teacher requires. This…

The long-range research and development needs for integrating assessment into instruction are discussed, and how ready the educational community is to begin making blueprints for this integration is explored. This paper addresses the problems of learning progress, diagnostic assessment, the design and implementation of performance tasks, and…

The Educational Testing Service is developing a new generation of teacher assessments--the Praxis Series: Professional Assessments for Beginning Teachers. The assessment series consists of three components. An academic skills component will assess the candidate's basic academic and enabling skills. Subject assessments will test the candidate's…

One may receive the most benefit from an evaluation of an educational program or the performance of a teacher if the evaluation process is approached from a Total Quality Management (TQM) point of view. Under the philosophy of TQM, the purpose of any evaluation process is to provide feedback for the continual improvement of the educational process…

In the spring of 1988, physical education teachers in Round Rock Independent School District (Texas) indicated, as part of their informal needs assessment, a desire for in-service training which would address techniques to prevent off-task behavior. An inservice training program to improve teacher performance in the reduction and prevention of…

Characteristics of effective teacher evaluations are reviewed, and some common teacher concerns are discussed. A teacher evaluation system should give teachers useful feedback on classroom needs, the opportunity to learn new teaching techniques, and counsel from principals and other teachers on how to make changes in their classrooms. Standards…

A science laboratory skills performance assessment for elementary and secondary school science teachers in California, using a multi-methods approach, is described. Seven domains of teacher performance identified included: pedagogy, content, materials and equipment, management, knowledge of students, climate, and communication. Within each domain,…

This report presents three needs assessment survey models that are designed to improve the process of teacher evaluation. The surveys, which were field tested in a large urban school district, address ways administrators can qualitatively differentiate between "good" and "excellent" teaching, or "poor" and "unsatisfactory" teaching, and be able to…