Outlines a broad range of organizational features that minimize teachers' ability to teach. Research findings show that the dominating motivational force for teachers is the reward found in promoting students' growth and development, but the conditions teachers work under often make teachers function less effectively. (MD)

This study finds that the chief existing teacher evaluation methods (measuring teacher characteristics, student achievement test scores, and teacher performance rating scales) are subjective, open to bias, closed to public scrutiny, and based on irrelevancies. The study advocates evaluation procedures that are performance-based and empirically…

Presents a true-false quiz and lengthy answers on current and emerging findings in school law and educational research. Focuses on the principal's responsibility for improving instruction. (Author/WD)

An effective systemwide teacher supervision and evaluation program can be developed only if district leaders (representing the school committee, administration, and teacher association) carefully attend to the ELPS (the educational, legal, public-relations, and social/emotional components of the process). A Massachusetts district's experience is…

Discusses written and unwritten tests of teachers and such issues as due process, equal protection, and test validity. (IRT)

In developing criterion-referenced reading tests, staff in a Skokie (Illinois) school district answered parents' concerns about accountability, participated in a valuable inservice learning experience, and achieved coordination between elementary and junior high programs. (Author/WD)

Public support for better teacher salaries hinges on tying these salaries to performance and productivity. To succeed, alternative compensation plans must be free of legislative involvement and restrictive outside funding and feature teacher cooperation in planning; clear, attainable objectives; freedom to determine reward format; and sound and…

The teaching profession is harmed by its focus on college degrees and length of service; the public views teachers as semiprofessionals, with job security and summers off. Some private schools have developed teacher evaluation and merit pay systems focused on teacher performance, not longevity. Costs and benefits are discussed. (MLH)

Offers 12 rules for using feedback to effect change and describes a system for stimulating change in teaching behavior in a school setting. (Author/IRT)

Educational reform could be stunted if questionable staffing practices (emergency certificates, misassignment of teachers, and alternative routes to certification) continue and become more prevalent due to the predicted teacher shortages. Outlines the National Education Association's six-point program and the American Federation of Teacher's…

Portfolios, demonstrations, exhibitions, displays, and video attestations all challenge traditional test theory, which is focused on individuals in isolation. However, teachers are expected to work collaboratively and resolve problems within a social context. Instead of limiting collaboration when evaluating a teacher's site-based portfolio,…

No external force or authority can make an organization excellent. Leadership's role is to persuade an organization's members to strive for excellence. This explains the failure of coercive state mandates for teacher evaluation, testing, academic standards, and foreign-language requirements. A new leadership model is desperately needed. (MLH)

Leading-edge states, districts, and unions are beginning to implement knowledge- and skills-based pay systems for teachers. PRAXIS and other performance assessment tools are described, along with sample assessment and salary schedule combinations. Effective principal leadership and yearly bonuses between $1,500 and $3,000 ensure sufficient…

Compares the perception of three groups--professional educators, education majors, and non-education majors--on fourteen criteria of teacher effectiveness. (IRT)

A 3-year pilot study of alternative assessments for over 500 beginning teachers revealed numerous possibilities, including high-inference classroom observations, semistructured interviews, structured simulation tasks, performance-based assessment center exercises, portfolios, videotaped teaching episodes, and revamped multiple-choice examinations.…