This yearbook is a call for radical change in educational evaluation. Part 1 defines evaluation, discusses its contributions to education, and assesses present practices. Part 2 examines the potential role of evaluation in improving learning and in maximizing teacher effectiveness. Part 3 shows that it is possible and desirable to discard the old…

Focusing on the teaching of reading, this study investigated the educational preparation, teaching practices, and personal attitudes of English teachers in public high schools throughout the United States. Questionnaires were mailed to 2004 randomly selected secondary school members of the National Council of Teachers of English. Results from a…

This study examines both the relationship between teacher evaluation by students and student performance (where students were unaware of course grades), and the role of learner perception of effective teaching styles on those evaluations. Ninty-three graduate students served as subjects for this study. Near the end of the five-week course, the…

The "Notes & Reflections" newsletter offers practical information--ideas, strategies, tools, and resources--about topics of special interest to professional developers who are working to improve school performance. Today, professional development services to schools are provided by variety of people: teacher leaders; principals; and district,…

This articles describes the Scale for Coaching Instructional Effectiveness, an instrument to help special education peer coaches observe general education teachers' skills, strategies, and techniques and provide feedback in the areas of planning and organization, instruction, and classroom management. Presents three examples of the instrument…

Describes California's efforts to examine and shape beginning teacher induction policies in the California New Teacher Project and its successor, the Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment Program. Key research findings related to support and assessment and the emerging policy directions resulting from this work are presented. (SM)

The current perception of faculty tenure as a guarantee of a job for life can impede the removal of teachers who do not perform up to standards. Such faculty, however, can have an extremely negative effect on overall college quality, and studies have shown that community college faculty do support post-tenure evaluation if it is responsibly…

This paper explores perspectives on self-study in teaching and in research through a longitudinal school-based professional development program for science teachers. The exploration focused on two broad perspectives: (1) self-study can be both personal and collaborative; and (2) self-study can be of teaching and of research. The professional…

Teaching is an applied science derived from research in human learning and behavior. The science of teaching is based on cause-effect relationships existing in three categories of teacher decisionmaking (content, learner behavior, and teaching behaviors). Several "templates" can be used to describe, interpret, and evaluate either…

Prior research has documented the failure of both staff development and teacher evaluation practices in schools to serve as sources of accountability and improvement for teachers. Few districts coordinate these two aspects of a human resource management system. Using a concept of organizational control, this study employs a qualitative methodology…

Widely endorsed national reports on educational reform have proposed career ladders and merit pay to raise the quality of the teaching force, and hence contribute to educational excellence. This report contends that careful analysis of proposed changes of teacher reward systems has been omitted. The issues requiring attention involve incentive…

A joint statement by 27 scholars, educators, and policymakers focuses on the question of character development in American education, as well as the general need to sustain the momentum of reform brought about by numerous national reports on education. Following an executive summary which presents a rationale for the statement, material is divided…

This monograph offers practical suggestions on how to develop and implement an effective and legally viable system of teacher evaluation. Part 1, "The Legal Arena," discusses current trends in school employee litigation, suggesting that an effective evaluation process can be one of the greatest deterrents to successful employee first amendment…

The Developmental Teacher Evaluation Kit (DeTEK), a four-phase evaluation system, provides for ongoing, objective, systematic teacher evaluation in which teachers and administrators collaborate in making decisions leading to teacher improvement. Phase 1, prediagnostic survey, involves the teacher's self-analysis, using the Teacher Performance…

Institutions can give support to the teacher's place in the interaction of the teacher, the student and a body of knowledge through the establishment of a separate unit such as a Center on Teaching. This report identifies some tangible means by which such a unit can help teachers sustain and improve instruction. The basic services that are…