Peer-Mediated Self-Appraisal facilitates merit pay decisions by combining summative (standard professional review) and formative (teaching processes and strategies) evaluation. It requires clear teaching standards, objective measures, and community acceptance of teachers as professionals. Two figures compare formative and summative evaluation and…

This paper reports changes in the professional knowledge, general knowledge, and communication skills components of the National Teacher Examinations and explains validation procedures. Research efforts to: (1) establish the tests' credibility and usefulness; (2) identify factors the tests measure; and (3) study their relationship to effective…

Research into effective teaching has only recently begun to yield dependable results. To be most helpful, research must focus on specific practices, and the findings must be used in the education of prospective teachers as well as in inservice education programs. (FG)

University students' evaluations of instructional effectiveness and faculty self-evaluations were collected. The effect of class-size depended upon the specific factor being evaluated. Small and large classes were generally rated more favorably. Relationships between class size and faculty self-evaluations were similar to students' evaluations.…

Presents 10 principles for beginning mathematics teachers based on the standards of the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC). A main product of the INTASC Performance Assessment Development Project (PADP) is the use of a portfolio-based teacher assessment which includes lessons focusing on one mathematical topic,…

Maintains that early childhood teacher evaluation practices urgently need reform and that effective practices should (1) draw on multiple data sources, including peers, parents, children, administrators, and teachers themselves; (2) view teacher growth as an ongoing process; (3) examine individualized goals and methods; and (4) involve teachers as…

Evaluations by cooperating teachers of student teachers resulted in ratings that were above average on all items. Reasons suggested for above-average evaluations included rater bias due to the relationship between cooperating teacher and student teacher, problems with the evaluation instrument, and a progressivist educational paradigm that…

Finding ways to improve the assessment of beginning teachers is part of an effort to assure that fully certified teachers possess the professional knowledge and skills necessary for competence in contemporary classrooms. Research done by the California New Teacher Project (CNTP) suggests that some knowledge and skills cannot be fully learned in…

This project was designed to help college teachers determine and enhance the teaching competence of their students in methods and practicum courses. Traditionally competence has been determined through the use of objective or essay tests. Cognitive knowledge of students may be determined in this manner but the student's ability to apply that…

This paper explores the functioning of the low-inference observation system used as part of the Tennessee Career Ladder evaluation system, which provides teachers with the opportunity to qualify for additional pay on the basis of outstanding performance. The analysis of the functioning of this form is intended to provide the basis for the ongoing…

When formative feedback in teacher evaluation programs results in a summative decision, teacher evaluation programs fulfill both formative and summative needs. Teacher evaluation programs that fulfill both formative and summative needs should include components such as consistent and just policies and procedures; evaluation criteria that agree…

To determine the views of evaluation held by educators in Maryland, 115 secondary teachers and 21 administrators in 6 Maryland school districts responded to a 26-item research-designed questionnaire. The questionnaire assessed the primary purposes of evaluation, the procedures used in the subjects' school systems, and the perceived strengths and…

Teacher evaluation is required before, during, and immediately after preservice education to insure a high level of teacher accountability. Personal motivation must be understood before one chooses the profession. Admission criteria to teacher preparation programs must be strengthened so that only proper candidates are selected. Professional…

A research project to investigate various developments in school self-evaluation was initiated in the United Kingdom. Three major studies were involved. The first examined the operation of local education-agency-initiated school evaluation schemes. The second explored initiatives in self-evaluation. The final study investigated the In-Service…

Faculty of the education department of a midwestern university were rated as teachers by both students and peers, and ranked by peers as to their effectiveness in service and research. Student ratings were gathered from three questions on The Student Description of Teaching form, which concerned assessment of the teacher, the is appended. Access…