by Brian
Several of us have written about the inclusion of students' test scores in teacher evaluations.
Here's a new wrinkle. My friend Bonnie, who teaches in the Alaska bush sent me a link to the website for the Fairbanks School District that provides forms for parents and community members to provide feedback to principals which can be used on teacher evaluations.
Here is what the form states (in red; my comments in black):
PARENT/GUARDIAN AND COMMUNITY INPUT FORM FOR TEACHER EVALUATION
This input form allows for ongoing parent/guardian input, which is important in improving the quality of education for all our students. You may obtain additional forms from any school office, the school district’s administrative center or the district’s web page at www.k12northstar.org Copies of completed evaluations will be made available to teachers upon request.
• Read each teacher standard below and place a check mark in the box which most closely matches your experience with this teacher.
FORMS RECEIVED BFORE [sic] JANUARY 10, 2011 will be ensured consideration in the teacher’s annual evaluation for the current school year.
• FORMS RECEIVED AFTER JANUARY 10, 2011 will be considered the following school year.
I was surprised. Here are a couple of FAQs:
1. Why is the district seeking parent input for teacher evaluations?
In compliance with state law, the district’s teacher evaluation system includes an opportunity for parent input. Parents have important information to share as to how teachers perform their jobs. Research shows parent involvement has a powerful impact on student achievement and the quality of schools.
Right. But I think the parent involvement the research was looking at was more like involvement in the classroom as a volunteer, or monitoring their student's study habits, not as an evaluator of professional practice.
2. Since parents may not have observed a teacher instructing, how can parents tell if a teacher meets all performance standards?
Parent input is not expected to be based on classroom observations. Principals formally observe teachers in the classroom as a part of the evaluation process. Parents have many sources of information to assist them in rating a teacher’s performance, including assignments, grading policies, course syllabus, teacher feedback on student work, parent/teacher conferences, and other contacts.
Parents have many sources of information? No first hand knowledge, but plenty of opinions based on second hand information and gossip ? And that would be useful in evaluating the teacher's performance??
There are several more FAQs that are just as befuddling.
This reminds me of a cartoon about a conference where the teacher is saying to the parent: "I won't believe everything she says about you, if you don't believe everything she says about me :-)"
I believe that ongoing, meaningful, two-way communication between teachers and parents is a key component of good teaching practice, but there is nothing two-way about this. Frankly, it just leaves me shaking my head.
Kristin, don’t you think the parents should contact the teacher first? I’m not sure when you think they “should get involved with the administration if they have complaints about the teacher.”
And to be clear, do you think parent and community members comments should be included in an evaluation of professional practice?
I think parents (and I am one) should be involved in the academic progress of their child, should do what they can to assist their child’s teacher, and should get involved with the administration if they have complaints about the teacher.
An administrator’s most important duty is the evaluation of his or her teachers. I feel like no one can trust the administrators to do their job well, so all these other things like test scores and parental evaluations are being used to evaluate teachers.
The administrators should sit in the classroom, observe and evaluate a teacher’s instruction, and do what needs to be done.
In a courtroom, second-hand information is called “hearsay” and isn’t allowed as evidence.
The 5th Core Proposition of the NBPTS includes this statement:
They know how to work collaboratively with parents to engage them productively in the work of the school.
I would like to see the evaluation process include the opportunity for the teacher to provide clear evidence that this was part of their practice. But to solicit the opinions of parents and community members who have no first hand knowledge of a teacher’s practice just seems like pandering for political purposes.
Next they’ll be including “data” from RateMyTeacher.com.
I think it is reasonable for parent voice to be PART of an evaluation–part of our job does involve our interactions with parents. However, think of how many families are represented by a student load of 150 or 160 students. Which ones do you think are probably going to respond to a blanket survey call for feedback? Probably only the disgruntled few who have some ax to grind, which certainly skews the results.
Wow
What sort of questions were on it? If they were things about classroom instruction, I dint see how parents could realistically answer those. Questions about amounts/quality of homework, communication with parents(notes, phone calls, grade cards), & maybe whether they feel thier child is learning-those might be useful. But if it’s just like the eval my pricipal fills out when he evaluates me, I don’t see how parents would know that.
Do we teachers then get to evaluate parents and their support of their children in our classroom? This is just as crazy as the above idea.
I have two kids in school. Despite what I hear from them about their teachers, I honestly have no objective basis by which I could honestly and fairly evaluate those teachers.
I agree, Brian, this is not the direction we want to go.