Suggests that child care competency and compensation evaluations should follow different performance review schedules. Benefits would include teacher growth; frequent and direct feedback; the separation of competency and compensation in the minds of administrators and teachers; and appropriate salary increases. (RJC)

Discusses research regarding the use of writing portfolios in writing classrooms. Explores how the results of such research might inform teachers and administrators interested in designing teacher evaluations using teacher portfolios. Presents seven principles for ensuring growth among teachers using portfolios for assessment. (HB)

Teacher evaluation should consider the curriculum element; that is, teachers should be evaluated in terms of making clear what content they want students to learn and at what level of function they want the content handled. Guidelines are suggested for conducting the evaluation and for evaluating the evaluation process. (SM)

Offers a tri-modal conceptualization of appraisal/supervision, discussing: (1) appraisal/supervision as a rational five-phase process mediated by the environment within which it occurs; (2) the integrative setting needed for effective supervision and appraisal; and (3) operationalizing the process through a series of activities involving an…

Addresses questions related to the evaluation of teachers, with specific attention to why there is such teacher resistance. Theorizes that it is the teachers' fear of evaluation of their personal identity rather than their professional competence that lies behind their resistance to evaluation. Calls for the use of action research as a basic…

This article is an account of my search for professional identity as a new university lecturer through the use of the peer observation of teaching (POT) techniques. Through a synthesis of selected theoretical literature, associated critical reflection, and my own experiences of professional development through POT, the paper presents a conceptual…

The Principal's Legal Handbook contains information and recommendations for practice in four areas. Section 1, "Students and the Law," yields interesting and informative answers on a number of issues related to students and the law: recent issues in schools relative to students' rights; the use of technology; and the latest case law and…

"Peer mentoring,""peer coaching," and "colleagueship supervision" describe a process of professional improvement in which teachers assist other teachers in becoming more competent and innovative in the use of pedagogical skills. Recent evidence suggests that teachers feel the individuals most qualified to assist them…

The evaluation of teachers to see whether they meet state competency standards or should be considered for merit pay is usually limited to making sure they achieve a minimum level of performance and does not involve determining how their performance can be improved if they exhibit higher levels of competence. In Georgia's Fulton County, Mountain…

The Teacher Quality Assurance Program, an integral part of the Houston, Texas, Plan for Excellence, addresses renewal and professional growth opportunities for current staff. The program is administered by a bi- or tri-dimensional assessment team that may consist of the principal, an instructional supervisor, and the associate and/or deputy…

The Oakland County School District in Michigan is in its fourth year of sponsoring the Oakland Writing Project. Research concerning whether the activities are having a positive influence on instruction and whether students are writing better as a result of the project has been, for the most part, informal but important. Project participants have…

Suggests that peer involvement in job target setting and assessment can be an effective means of humanizing the assessment process resulting in improved instructional performance and higher staff morale. (Author)

The aim of these NIE programs is to supply information about what teachers do that helps their students learn more, and thus what skills prospective teachers should be taught in order to be effective. (Author/RK)

Contends that student evaluative questionnaires should be designed by instructors themselves to help improve their classroom performance and therefore should contain only questions that students are capable of answering objectively and not, for instance, questions about the relevancy of the course. Contains a sample questionnaire. (GH)

In recent years there has been an increasing demand for accountability and evaluation of teachers. One nonthreatening method that might be used by teachers to evaluate and improve their classroom performance is self-appraisal. The experiment in this document uses the Teacher Self Appraisal (TSA) observation system which divides the teaching act…