Over the past 7 years, the Oral History Project Team has conducted interviews with individuals who have made signal contributions to evaluation theory and practice, tracing their professional development and contextualizing their work within the social and political climates of the time. By capturing the professional evolution of those who have…

In this wide-ranging interview with Educational Leadership, Stanford University Professor of Education Linda Darling-Hammond discusses the kind of preparation and support new teachers need to survive their critical first years in the classroom. Among her central recommendations are more intensive mentoring that lasts through the first year of…

With policymakers across the country proposing questionable ways to evaluate teachers, it's time to listen to those who know what supports and systems are needed to enhance instruction: teachers. This article explores the work of professional educators--not just their accomplishments, but also their challenges--so that the lessons they have…

In this paper, I report on the work of a practitioner inquiry group that went awry when the sponsor refused to publish and disseminate the participants' final reports, stating that they were of poor quality and did not contribute to the knowledge base. I, the facilitator of the group, disagreed strongly with her. I suggest that the difference…

In this article, the author discusses issues that have seemed most fundamental--yet perplexing because they are not well or widely understood--for the students who usually take his masters-level course called Second-Language Assessment. These master's students are experienced teachers, mostly of English, but also of other languages such as French…

Superintendents' performance evaluations continue to be too frequently conducted through a highly informal, subjective process, based more on impressions than data. Several states require school boards to use student performance data in evaluating their superintendents. Student achievement data, focusing on continuous improvement, should certainly…

All evaluators should know evaluation theory because it is central to their professional identity. It defines "who they are." Every profession needs a unique knowledge base, and for evaluators, evaluation theory is that knowledge base. (Author/SLD)

Accountability is now a requirement in education, and that extends to professional development. Leaders must understand what evaluation is, what its purposes are, and the critical levels of professional development evaluation to be able to provide meaningful data that demonstrate the difference professional learning makes.

Principals should change their traditional evaluating methods while evaluating the library media specialists who also have to serve as a teacher or assume other additional responsibilities and adopt evaluation methods similar to those used for teachers. The "prep" period librarians provide a way to continue the method of instructing students in…

Describes an English teacher educator's changing views on assessment. Discusses four recent books that offer assessment strategies teachers can use to improve their instructional practice, to increase their own learning, and to enhance their programs. (RS)

Peer evaluation has great potential as a method of improving classroom instruction and enhancing the self-esteem and professional growth of teachers. The peer evaluation format would be more formative than summative and might include team teaching, videotaping, and reflective teaching--a carefully structured method of peer teaching. (JHZ)

Discussion of performance evaluations for administrators focuses on evaluations for library directors. The frequency of evaluations is discussed; reasons to evaluate are described, including identifying areas where improvement is needed and to assist in personal and professional development; evaluation committees are explained; and suggestions for…

In this article (the edited keynote address to the NAEYC 15th National Institute for Early Childhood Professional Development in June) Bowman defines the four different kinds of standards-for programs, content, learning or performance, and professional development-and explains her beliefs about them. Regarding content and learning standards,…

Procedures and rationales for teacher appraisal are examined. The target-output model calls for agreed-upon objectives to be compared with professional work. The performance criteria model compares professional work to agreed criteria of competencies. A diagnostic model of appraisal of teacher needs and potentials is joined with the others in a…

This paper reports on an interview-based study which explored the implementation of a major policy initiative in Queensland, Australia, with particular attention to social justice issues. Interviews were conducted with key policy actors in three sections of the bureaucracy: strategic directions, performance and measurement; curriculum and…