Teacher Evaluations

Paper Summary:

The paper explains that administrators within the school system, primarily principals, have the responsibility for management of all the evaluation programs of a school. It explains that one of the most compelling reasons for a principal to be a good evaluator is to be able to determine the effectiveness of the school's teaching staff. The paper presents arguments in favor of teacher evaluations, in order to evaluate teacher quality and positive performance through linked pay increases. The paper presents arguments against teacher evaluations in order to evaluate drawbacks to linking pay increases to positive teacher evaluations, to assess expensive administrative and personnel costs, to reduce the potential for bias in the evaluation system and to prevent using teachers as scapegoats for America's education crisis. The writer suggests alternate methods of teacher evaluation. In conclusion, the writer states that some people are in support of teacher evaluation and some against it, but that it is important to remember that the goal is to ensure that children grow up to be educated and productive members of society.

Table of Contents:
Arguments in Favor of Teacher Evaluations
Arguments Against Teacher Evaluations
Alternate Methods of Teacher Evaluation
Conclusion
References

From the Paper:

"Expensive Administrative and Personnel Costs. Another drawback of the use of teacher evaluations is the cost to the school district, in terms of both time and money. In order for the evaluations to be accurate and useful, they must be designed for a teacher's specific grade level and subject matter. Because the administration must design different criteria for education level, experience level, and subject matter of each teacher, the costs for designing these systems of evaluation can be expensive. Some states offer standardized written assessment tests, but assessment tests also have their limits. Just because a teacher can regurgitate information about a certain subject, they may still not be an effective teacher."

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