Common Threads

What many people outside of the teaching profession do not hear is that teachers desire to improve their abilities.  Put aside the arguments about tenure and poor teachers, yes they do exist, most teachers are self-motivated to improve their instruction.  Teachers want a meaningful evaluation process in which they are valued as professionals and not subjected to the quick checklist of standards "satisfactory, needs improvement, etc." Moreover, teachers would like to engage in a dialogue about what is observed and their progress towards agreed upon goals.

In talking to teachers recently I have found that the majority do not want test scores factored into the evaluation process because a standardized test is not an accurate reflection of learning that takes place on a daily basis in the classroom.  Factor in the diverse groups of students in a classroom, all coming with a wide range of learning abilities and socio-economic backgrounds, plus personal issues that may crop up on any given day, a one-shot test is not a reliable measure of learning that should make up a teacher's evaluation. However,  a national trend is to subject teachers to such an evaluation which in many cases can make up at least 50% of the teacher's evaluation.

Teaching is a complex art that involves a myriad of skills which cannot be measured.  How can one measure a teacher's effectiveness when they have motivated a student who is struggling to overcome poverty and general family dysfunction? How does one evaluate a teacher who provides opportunities for student growth that surpass the general work hours? This occurs daily throughout our nation, but there are those who would like people to belief that teacher effectiveness is best measured through a test.

Here are some thoughts for being assessed from teachers.

1. Make it a three part process  beginning with a lesson review with an administrator. Second implement the lesson while having an trained administrator in the classroom. Next have an agreed upon discussion time with the evaluator which would conclude with an agreement of the findings and the next steps.
2. Some teachers would like to be part of more frequent visits that would reveal the the classroom climate so that an evaluator would get a feel for what takes place instead of one shot visit with a written evaluation.
3. Make the process more customized so that it fits subject and grade level classrooms. What will the evaluators be looking for? Is it consistent with the grade or subject level. On this point the question arises about student engagement.  How is that measured in a secondary science classroom? Certainly not the same as a history classroom.  What does student engagement look like at the elementary level? Definitely not the same as a high school.

These are some general thoughts from teachers who sincerely desire to improve, but are generally frustrated with the current system.

My next post will address some possible solutions to the process that have been utilized by districts throughout the state.

The Journey Begins

Although my journey to improve my teaching began when I actually first stepped foot into a classroom 29 years ago, my current passion improve the evaluation system.  Earlier in the year I was selected as one of twenty-nine participants for the California Teachers Association Leadership Cohort.  For two days my fellow colleagues and myself met at CTA headquarters in Burlingame learning and discussing  the various facets of leadership in the educational environment.  Our foundation was based on the book
Professional Capital: Transforming Teaching in Every School by Andy Hargreaves and Michael Fullan.

At the end of our session each participant was to compose a project idea that would reflect leadership in an educational setting.  The projects ranged from site initiatives to create professional learning communities to district level projects to help retain teachers, provide for better communication for parents and create enduring professional development.  My project arose from my passion to improve myself as a teacher.

Over my career I have been evaluated many times, but with very few actual meaningful outcomes.  Despite the fact that teachers become tenured in my district after two years of successful evaluations, most teacher desire a professional conversation about their teaching and truly would like to improve their teaching if someone was able to actually pinpoint areas of needing improvement. Most veteran teachers have endured the perfunctory observation and subsequent written evaluation of their teaching in which an administrator has darted into the classroom and checked off a list and left quickly on their way to another observation that needed to be done before the deadline.  The subsequent conversation about the observation was equally unproductive if it actually took place as an administrator would briefly discuss their findings and the teacher would sign off. Deal is done! Time to move on.

The work begin with meeting with my local union president and CTA representative in August in which we discussed a game plan to kick start a change in the evaluation process in our district.  It was agreed that I would begin the process by interviewing teachers at my site in order to get a general feel about what their concerns.  The general consensus was that all teachers want to improve their teaching, but they want a meaningful evaluation process.  The teachers truly desire a professional conversation with administrators about their goals, what was observed during the classroom visits and how they can improve specific facets of their teaching.  Most did agreed that the current system is flawed in the way that administrators have to observe a large number of teachers with little time for professional discussions, just the general overview of the checklist that is utilized by the district for the observation and evaluation process.

In my next post I will detail some of the findings from other site visits.  In the meantime check out the posted resources on teacher evaluations found on this site.