At New River Community College in Dublin, Virginia, a variable merit-pay plan is underway. The plan, designed by the faculty's Improvement of Instruction Committee uses a variety of inputs from students, peers, and supervisors. The variety of subjective inputs are used to assure a relatively objective assessment of faculty. (DS)

Concerned about the problem of evaluation, the staff of an Ontario College of Education performed an experiment on the ranking of student teacher performance. The results of the study, which involved only 13 students and a like number of staff, indicated a high measure of consistency in ranking. (Authors)

Discusses the three vital factors upon which information derived from an evaluation instrument depends: (1) the criteria by which teaching performance is judged, (2) the reliability and validity of the acquired data, and (3) the comparison of the evidence against the criteria. (Author/EA)

Presents reasons why most teachers will not accept evaluation for merit pay under any circumstances. Contends that teachers will support evaluation for constructive, diagnostic purposes only. (Author/EA)

Effective teacher performance evaluation systems are fair, objective, job-specific, reliable, clear, provide for teacher development, and are oriented toward both the teacher's processes and the teacher's products. Loyola Academy involved teachers in developing an evaluation system exhibiting these features as well as a performance compensation…

The process of personnel analysis is one of the few viable vehicles in the educational environment that can lead to the improvement of instruction and professional growth, the authors contend. Such analysis must, however, be implemented in a non-threatening manner. (Editor)

Performance standards help define more clearly the behaviors necessary for evaluated persons to perform their jobs successfully. This article discusses how performance standards differ from criteria; outlines formats; and presents a behaviorally anchored rating scale. (MLH)

Coaching occurs in many fields, including music, drama, and various sports activities. Building a "coaching" metaphor might help clarify differences in coaching roles that principals and teachers find confusing. Most head coaches recognize that responsible evaluation is more helpful than absolute power in helping each player be the best…

In 1984, a Salt Lake City school district began developing a merit pay program to cover all certified teachers. A committee of teachers designed an assessment method called AIM. Implementation involved developing measurement criteria, establishing evaluation procedures, providing feedback, creating a merit pay plan tied to career development, and…

Reviews the literature on teaching awards and then examines a specific case, the Alan P. Stuart Award for Excellence in Teaching at the University of New Brunswick, using Menges's three tests of effective awards. Suggests that examining the strengths and weaknesses of institutional teaching awards can help illuminate the processes involved in…

Two inherently contradictory forces are pushing for reform in portfolio assessment. On the one hand there is a felt need for creating more rigid standards that operate to promote uniformity of ratings in appraisal practice to certify achievement. However, on the other hand, critical questions are being raised about separating acclaimed portfolio…

Teachers are at best only moderately successful in predicting pupil performance.

Guidelines for the evaluation of teachers and administrators in open space education are provided. For journal availability see annotation SO 504 171. (DE)

This paper explores the impact of the Texas Teacher Appraisal System (TTAS) through an analysis of interviews with 24 high school English teachers. The first part of the paper discusses the development of the TTAS and the second section describes the study. The teachers were asked if and how the TTAS had affected their teaching performance, what…