This study explores the perceptions of elementary school principals on the Compass teacher evaluation system in a Southern Louisiana school district in the United States. There were seven themes that emerged from the qualitative data analysis: compliance, subjectivity, accountability, expectation, confinement, inconsistency, and helpfulness. Data…

Contemporary teacher evaluation systems are built upon multiple measures including, primarily, teacher-level value-added and observational estimates. While researchers have conducted examinations of these systems and indicators, researchers have not investigated how using these systems might distort the validity of the inferences being drawn,…

The requirement for all Initial Teacher Education programs in Australia to include a capstone teacher performance assessment (TPA) is relatively new. However, TPAs are common in other countries, particularly the United States. In this article, we report on a review of the literature instigated by the authors' involvement in the development of an…

Teacher evaluations are conducted to inform employment decisions and teacher professional development with the ultimate goal to create beneficial student learning environments. The effectiveness and feasibility of teacher evaluations, particularly in high-stakes contexts (hiring, firing, promotion, Pay-for-Performance schemes), crucially depends…

In this paper the authors examine the uses of teaching performance assessments (TPAs) as resources for learning, program evaluation, and improvement in teacher education. The authors begin by outlining their conceptual framing and related research questions about the uses of TPAs as resources for program evaluation and improvement. They describe…

Amid rising concerns in recent decades about the performance, equity, and efficiency of education systems, policy-makers worldwide have sought to reform educational governance. Key reform elements include standardized testing, teacher monitoring and evaluation, and accountability, often in combination with other features such as decentralization…

When designing attractive teacher career structures, policymakers have to take a series of complex decisions. These decisions are related not only to the number of steps within the career ladder and their associated responsibilities, but also to how these positions are articulated with the salary scale and to opportunities for professional…

Concern regarding the static nature of school art curricula has caused some higher educators to question what happens when graduates of art education programs transition from being preservice teachers associated with the university to in-service teachers working in schools. Why is it that graduates do not seem to be fulfilling their roles as the…

In a time when public schools continue to be scrutinized, school leadership never mattered more in order to exercise school reform. This qualitative study examined how five principals working in an urban school district perceived their evaluation and how it contributed to their practice. I applied a descriptive case study approach. Evaluations can…

We used multilevel analysis to examine the predictive validity of scores from the Framework for Teaching (FFT), the observation measure used most often to evaluate teachers' instruction. We investigated how well 81 kindergarten teachers' FFT scores for eight reading and eight mathematics lessons observed throughout the year predicted students'…

To improve teaching and learning outcomes, teachers and head teachers need whole-system support to build professionalism and enhance their practice. Roles at the middle tier of education systems, or those professionals working between the school and central level, offer unique capacities to facilitate collaboration, broker knowledge, scale…

In many countries, teacher evaluation has been viewed as a policy lever to improve the quality of teaching and student achievement. Recent research suggests that teacher evaluation can also be implemented as a mechanism for professional growth with careful consideration of the organizational context. However, few studies have examined the way in…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine how school leaders use high-stakes teacher evaluation to improve and, if necessary, remove low-performing teachers in their schools. It explores how cognitive, relational and organizational factors play a role in shaping the way school leaders implement teacher evaluation.…

This study examined the potential influence of test-based accountability policies on school environment and teacher stress among early elementary teachers. Structural equation modeling of data from 541 kindergarten through second grade teachers across three states found that use of student performance on high-stakes tests to evaluate teachers…

This qualitative multiple case study was based on in-depth interviews with participants from three different schools. Each school used a different High-Stakes Accountability Model for teacher evaluation: RISE Evaluation and Development (RISE), Teacher Advancement Program (TAP), and Peer Assistance and Review (PAR). The purpose of this study was to…