On Teacher Evaluations

My first year of teaching was in 1994, and I was fresh out of college and was optimistic that I could handle a classroom and that I knew my subject matter.   It only took a few days for me to realize that I was probably a little too optimistic.    I was fortunate to have two veteran teachers as mentors who guided me through strategies that were never mentioned in a textbook and who gave me practical advice on how to survive that first year, and when needed, a shoulder to cry on.

When the principal contacted me about my first evaluation, I was nervous.  I spent a lot of time going over my lesson plan, tidying the room, and basically worrying about how my students would behave.   The principal came into my classroom for an hour that day and sat in the back of the room and took notes.  I tried to pretend he wasn’t there, but admittedly, it made me nervous.  The kids behaved, I think he made them nervous too.  He checked my gradebook before he left and told me to stop by his office the next day.

When I arrived in the morning, I sat down opposite him in the principal’s office, which was weird for me because I’d actually never in my life been in a principal’s office.   He handed me a typed document which read almost like a letter of recommendation.  It had specific details about my lesson, about the students, and about my record keeping and had a box checked at the bottom that said “excellent.”    After reading that, he then gave me suggestions about things that I could do better.  These suggestions were not done in a judgmental way or in a way that made me feel like I had done a bad job. They were practical suggestions, like pausing longer after I asked the class a question, calling on students rather than just going to the ones that raise their hands.  He even suggested that I was taking too many grades, and that I was probably spending way too much time at home grading papers.  Overall, the evaluation process was beneficial and a good experience and probably modeled what we now call “professional learning communities.”

Fast forward 23 years and the evaluation process has changed quite a bit, and I’m not sure it’s for the better.  Politicians have created laws that require evaluations, and in some states evaluations tied to student scores on standardized tests.  This massive push to rank and sort teachers in a misguided effort to weed out the “bad teachers” has turned the evaluation process into a juggernaut of paperwork.   In the state of Illinois, we use the Danielson model for evaluations.

Even the creator of this model has voiced misgivings about how it is being used.   Charlotte Danielson stated “I’m deeply troubled by the transformation of teaching from a complex profession requiring nuanced judgment to the performance of certain behaviors that can be ticked off on a checklist.”  (Source: Charlotte Danielson on Rethinking Teacher Evaluation; Edweek )  The main complaint is that if evaluators must assign a score, then teaching itself is reduced to numbers, ratings, and rankings which can then be used (in some places) as a way to determine if a teacher will be retained, tenured, and in some cases can effect their salary.

Unintended Consequences

These factors can have an unintended consequence of creating competitive climates in the professional learning communities.  After all, if the goal is to sort and rank, then someone must be on the bottom.  My evaluation 23 years ago actually helped me become a better teacher.  I could speak to the principal and my mentors about how I could improve my lessons and my classroom management.  I could do these things without the fear that somewhere down the line, an evaluation would show that I was “ineffective” in one of the four domains of the framework.  Just preparing for the evaluation was stressful, as I had to go through each domain and provide evidence that I was being effective.   I had multiple meetings with principals to discuss the domains, evidence, and areas that I think needed improvement.   I organized a thick binder full of paperwork to keep records to show just how highly effective I am. (Though, I bet I could be even more highly effective if I’d spent that time working on lesson plans and assessments, and helping my students.)

The amount of paperwork and planning teachers endure is nothing compared to the time required for administrators to do these evaluations.   I’m not sure how there could be time for anything else when each administrator was assigned to multiple teachers.   The overall feeling I got from this process was that it was a lot of jumping and a lot of hoops.   Also, a reminder that this process was not self inflicted, the requirements came from the state government who was following the guidelines and requirements of the federal government, under the threat of withholding federal funds if schools did not comply.    This year, we also have to add another component to the binder, the “student growth” component where I need to keep records of pre-tests and post-tests to show that my students have learned something in my class.    All of this information tracked by administrators who must also deal with the daily running of a large school.

I’m not against evaluation and I believe it is a useful tool for staff and for improving education all around.   I’m just not convinced that the new method will do that.   I think this new method is, like Charlotte Danielson said, a way for me to have a file with a bunch of check marks showing that I have all of the behaviors of an effective teacher, though not really providing a clear overall view of whether those behaviors actually make me an effective teacher.   I think my two mentors from 1994 would have just told me to jump through those hoops, get my checkmarks and keep doing what I’m doing in the classroom and not to sweat it.    Then, when I really needed an honest evaluation or advice, to just come to them and ask for it.

Final Word:

Never underestimate the power of good mentors and colleagues who can help you refine your craft and become a better teacher.   We can learn from each other, and many schools have figured out that the key to fostering good teachers is to provide them the support they need, though mentors and professional learning communities.   Sadly my two mentors passed away years ago, but they are not forgotten.  Both have scholarships  in their name.

Linda K. Green

Tom Pinnell