This "Rating a Teacher Observation Tool" identifies five simple questions and provides an easy-to-use scorecard to help policymakers decide whether an observation framework is likely to produce fair and accurate results. The five questions are: (1) Do the criteria and tools cover the classroom performance areas most connected to student outcomes?…

Presents the problem of evaluating teaching, especially in science education. Gives examples of science teaching skills that are difficult to evaluate. Gives examples of individual solutions being used. Announces a National Science Teachers Association survey of teacher evaluation and standards. (CW)

Using data from previous comprehensive studies of incentive pay plans, this report draws conclusions about assessing and implementing various incentive pay plans. Following a brief history of incentive pay plans from 1908 to 1983, an analysis of accumulated research is provided that shows the reasons why incentive pay plans for teachers have…

In 1979, Act 187, known now as the Educator Improvement Act, was mandated by the legislature of the State of South Carolina. One tenet of Act 187 was the establishment of an Educator Improvement Task Force to develop an instrument which could effectively measure minimal teaching competencies. To help in the content and design of the instrument,…

This guide provides assistance to New Mexico school districts in implementing a state-sponsored teacher performance evaluation plan (Provision III of the New Mexico Staff Accountability Plan, adopted by the State Board of Education). This plan involves five basic procedures: (1) determine specific definitions of the six essential teaching…