TEACHER EVALUATIONS

It is imperative that school administrators become scholar-practitioners particularly in their approach to conducting informal and formal evaluations of their faculty.  Administrators that are able to develop their own observation protocols that are based upon quantitative, qualitative or mixed-method elements, tend to provide feedback to teachers that are empirical and not anecdotal in nature.  The formal evaluations that become part of a teacher’s overall record should be based upon the cumulative non-formal evaluations that have been conducted by the administration. This is why the evaluation should be structured in such a way as to provide high levels of descriptive data that will allow the teacher to proactively incorporate the feedback into his/her teaching methodology.  In my experience, the utilization of mixed-method observation protocols will provide the most complete information concerning a given teacher’s performance.  The inclusion of quantitative data within an evaluation in the form of frequency checklists, student on-task marks or teacher walk-through patterns, can go a long way in providing the teacher with objective and actionable information.  All too often I have seen administrators who are either too lazy or uninformed to include quantifiable data within their evaluations.  Many administrators feel more comfortable writing down subjective notes based upon their own experiences and opinions rather than taking the time to include numerical data.