I'm encouraged this morning reading this article about Idaho's work in crafting standardized performance evaluations for teachers. Apparently, some are hoping it paves the way for pay-for-performance plans for teachers (another good thing).
To be sure, recent reports indicate that teacher evaluations are pretty poor on the whole. I've had the opportunity over the years to take a look at some of these evaluations, particularly those in urban school districts, and concur that they can be pretty embarrassing, often treating "personal hygiene" on the same plane as "teacher knowledge of subject"--that is, if the latter is even included.
To be fair, there are some fantastic evaluation instruments out there for assessing teachers' skills and knowledge. The Teacher Advancement Program, for instance, has one they use as part of their professional development and performance-based pay program. It's a research-based rubric that includes nearly 20 indicators (such as teacher content knowledge, teacher knowledge of students, academic feedback, and use of problem solving skills)--each one with corresponding benchmarks that operationalize what it means to be exemplary, proficient, or needing improvement. Let's hope the potato state can be a model for other states/districts interested in overhauling their teacher evaluations so that they actually serve to help teachers serve students.
