Th.--Sci.polit.--Helsinki, 1965. / Bibliogr. p. 455-468. Index.

This study provides an empirical analysis of the primary assumptions of a newly implemented teacher evaluation system, namely that the specific teaching practices evaluated are related to student achievement, and that teacher-directed professional growth plans effectively shape teacher practices in a particular domain. Results of the study are intended to inform the interpretation and the refinement of the Volusia System for Empowering Teachers (VSET), which aims to build capacity in the Volusia teacher work force and ultimately to improve student performance (School Board of Volusia County Team Volusia, Race to the Top application, 2011). This study focused on 14 pilot schools within one school district that implemented VSET as a new teacher evaluation system. The data used in this study were drawn from a multi-metric teacher assessment used in VSET and measures of student achievement. The VSET evaluation model consists of three metrics that are assigned according to the specific categories of a teacher. Two of the metrics, the professional growth plan rating and the educator observation rating are based on Charlotte Danielson’s “Framework for Teaching” (Danielson, 2007). The third metric, the valued added score is a measure of the teacher’s impact on student learning. The current study focused on determining if there was a correlation between teaching practice and student achievement and to what extent teaching practice was impacted by teacher self-selection of components for professional growth in the teacher evaluation model. The findings suggest that there is not a statistically significant and reliable relationship between the value added score and teacher practices across components, as assessed by VSET evaluators. Follow up analyses did, however, show that higher evaluator observation scores are associated with improved school iv grades, suggesting a relationship between teacher impact on student performance. The results support the assumption that the successful completion of the VSET professional development growth plan is associated with teacher’s instructional practices in the identified component.

Thesis (M.A.) -- Central Connecticut State University, 2009. / Thesis advisor: Norton Mezvinsky. "... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 186-192). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Reforms in teacher evaluation are enacted to increase student achievement. Although there is research on teacher evaluation and teacher quality, there is little that addresses effective teaching as conceptualized in Danielson's Framework for Teaching, a commonly used evaluation tool. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine which of the 4 domains and 76 elements of Danielson's framework are viewed by award-winning teachers as having the greatest impact on effective teaching and learning. Constructivism formed the theoretical basis for this study. The research questions examined to what extent state and national teachers of the year perceive differences in the importance to effective teaching and learning across each of Danielson's 4 domains and across the elements within those domains. A quantitative single-factor within-subject design was utilized. Framework for Teaching Survey importance ratings obtained from state teachers of the year for the past 6 years (N = 350) were compared using repeated measure one-way analysis of variances). Significant F values were followed by the Fisher Least Significant Difference Test to determine the domains or elements that significantly differ from one another. Significant differences in the importance ratings were obtained across each of the 4 domains. The instruction domain was rated most important followed by classroom environment, planning and preparation, and professional responsibilities. Findings may facilitate positive social change by enabling schools, districts, and states to more accurately evaluate teachers and devote limited professional development resources to domains and elements with the greatest potential for improving teacher quality.

School officials in a large district adopted a research-based teacher evaluation system, the Framework for Teaching (FFT). Despite a 4-year phase-in of the FFT, teachers' evaluation ratings increased while student achievement results decreased. This disparity impacted the school district's growth targets as set by the State Department of Education. If target growths are unmet, school administrators must relinquish school operations to the state. A bounded, qualitative case study was designed to explore administrators' and teachers' perceptions of the FFT and its influence on school administrators' assessment of teachers' instructional practices. Social constructivist and andragogy theories formed the study's conceptual framework. A purposeful sample of 6 K-12 district administrators, who reviewed teacher performance, and 12 K-12 district teachers, who were evaluated using the FFT, volunteered to participate in semi-structured interviews. Qualitative data were analyzed using open and axial coding. Key results included concerns with lack of time for conferences during the evaluation process, administrators' skills to provide quality feedback to teachers, and their lack of content knowledge to improve teaching and learning in specific content areas. It was recommended that teachers receive evidence- based, constructive, and individualized feedback from the school administrator. Based on the findings, the Feedback Institute was developed to engage school administrators in professional development to learn how to provide substantive feedback using protocols and structures to support teacher growth and to use content specialists to address gaps in administrators' content knowledge. These endeavors may contribute to positive social change by restructuring the teacher evaluation process to improve instructional practice, and, thus, enhance school improvement and student learning.

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