The purpose of this study was to deconstruct the communication that occurs in the post-observation conference in music teacher evaluation. If music teachers and evaluators are to communicate effectively, demonstrate and assess various dimensions of music teaching, accurately judge the professional qualities and pedagogical actions of music teachers, and apply such judgements in measuring music teacher effectiveness, then the beliefs, thoughts, words, actions, habits, and values of those music teachers and evaluators must be appropriately and deeply understood. This study utilized aspects of ethnography and critical discourse analysis in examining the dialogue between sets of ensemble directors and their evaluators in the context of music teacher evaluation. The primary theoretical foundation of this study flows from James Paul Gee’s writings on the theory and practice of discourse analysis. Thus, I examined the attributes of discourse among evaluators and music teacher dyads and the means by which significance, social goods, and relationships shaped the music teacher evaluation process. The results indicated the language-in-use during the post-observation conferences in the music teacher evaluation process shaped the nature and quality of communication between music teachers and their evaluators. Music teachers and evaluators used language to indicate significance through repetition of and/or direct statements of importance. The results did not indicate any discrepancies on the situated meanings of terms associated with interpretation of the rubric when applied to the band rehearsal. Social goods, such as growth in band enrollment, teacher rating, and pay, were exchanged within the verbal and written discourse, or implied within the communication process itself. Relationships were more difficult to detect through the verbal language of the evaluative conferences. However, nonverbal clues during post-observation conferences offered insight into the type of relationship that had been built or was in place, and it was noted that the nonverbal language, such as eye contact and posture, reflected the quality of communication in these music teacher evaluation conferences. The importance of this study rests within the context of understanding the role of communication in music teacher evaluations

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This dissertation focused on the new performance-based teacher evaluation system implemented in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Eight school districts were granted an implementation waiver for one year making the 2013-2014 school year the implementation year for those school districts. A mixed methodology study was designed to understand teacher perceptions in one waiver school district in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The purposes of this study were to collect empirical evidence on the implementation of the new performance-based teacher evaluation system by comparing teachers' and principals' perceptions at three elementary schools to teachers' perceptions in the school district, identified as District Z and were to add to the research base on policy implementation theories and teacher evaluation. Findings and analysis of research questions were based on the responses of 357 teacher participants, two district directors, and three principals. Policy implementation research suggested access to resources and support along with an alignment of beliefs and values resulted in more effective implementation practices. Conclusions of this study, while limited to the district studied, suggested professional development on the new performance-based teacher evaluation system, including the Uniform Performance Standards and SMART goals, would provide teachers and principals with the increased knowledge to use as a resource during new implementation phases. Additionally, involvement in the design and modification of the teacher evaluation system would encourage participation and provide opportunities for teachers and principals to develop shared values regarding aspects of the evaluation system. / Ed. D.

Teacher evaluation has a history of challenges, from disagreement over its fundamental purpose to questions of its significance to teachers. Studies (Barnett & McCormick, 2004; Frase & Streshly, 1994; Machell, 1995; Milanowski, 2005; Milanowski & Heneman, 2001; Ovando & Harris, 1993; Stiggins & Duke, 1988) have consistently identified poor feedback, a lack of credibility, and an absence of trust as key issues that impact the effectiveness of an evaluator in the process. The purpose of teacher evaluation may be seen on a continuum from accountability, summarizing the progress of a teacher for the year, to improvement, motivating a teacher on to growth throughout the year and beyond. With the continually-expanding knowledge base on learning principles, a commitment to improvement and growth is essential to optimally meeting the needs of learners. There is a need to better understand the connection between principal practices in the evaluation process and teacher openness to professional growth. In this qualitative study, data from interviews and assorted artifacts were examined to ascertain what an elementary principal can do in the teacher evaluation process to promote the professional development of teachers. Elementary principals and teachers from a school division in Virginia were interviewed. The sources of data for this study were interview records, field observation notes, and archival data in the form of written observation summaries and professional growth goals, year-end evaluations, and the evaluation handbook and policies of the school division. The data in this study supported the conclusion that elementary principals do not use the evaluation process to promote professional growth. It was apparent in the interview data, however, that the belief that evaluation should foster growth was very strong in this school division. From the study emerged principles of practice that could indeed encourage a climate of growth in the elementary setting. / Ph. D.

abstract: Given the current focus on high-stakes accountability in America's public schools, this study examined teacher evaluation specific to physical education. This study revealed current teacher evaluation practices used in physical education, perceptions of school administrators related to the value of the physical education evaluation process, and the perceptions of the physical education teachers related to the value of the evaluation process. The first phase of this study was an interpretive document analysis study conducted on four separate teacher evaluation systems commonly used within the public school system to evaluate physical education teachers. Those four systems were: Marzanos teacher evaluation model, Danielson framework for teaching (FFT), Rewarding Excellence in Instruction and Leadership (REIL), and Teacher Advancement Program (TAP). A separate evaluation instrument specific to physical education created by the National Association of Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) was used as a comparative evaluation tool. Evidence suggests that two of the four teacher evaluation systems had a high percentage of alignment with the NASPE instrument (TAP 87.5%, FFT 82.5%). The Marzano teacher evaluation model had the least amount of alignment with the NASPE instrument (62.5%). The second phase of this study was a phenomenological approach to understanding administrators' and physical education teachers' perceptions to teacher evaluation specific to physical education. The participants in this study were administrators and physical education teachers from an urban school district. An informal survey and formal semi-structured interviews were used to reveal perceptions of teacher evaluation specific to physical education. Evidence from the administrator's informal survey and formal semi-structured interviews revealed four common themes: (1) "I value PE, but I live in reality" (administrators value physical education, but practice in reality); (2) "good teaching is good teaching"; (3) "I know my limitations, and I want/need help" (relative to teacher evaluation in PE); and (4) where's the training beef? Evidence from the physical education teacher's informal survey and formal semi-structured interviews revealed three common themes: (a) physical education is valued, but not prioritized; (b) teacher evaluation in physical education is "greatly needed, yet not transparent; (c) physical educators are not confident in their evaluator. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Physical Education 2014

As teacher evaluation practices become increasingly high-stakes, principal observation has been made an important source of data in the evaluation process. Driven by the federal Race to the Top initiative, implementation of teacher evaluation systems has been rapid and questions remain about the preparedness of principals to successfully implement the new evaluation processes. The researcher conducted a qualitative case study that focuses on the implementation of the Louisiana Department of Education's COMPASS teacher evaluation system and its impacts on principals in one school district. Interviews were conducted with six principals, a focus group was held with the four members of the district central office that supervise and support these principals, and two more focus group were held with selected teachers from the schools of each of the participating principals. Viewed through the lens of Transformational Leadership, data was collected, transcribed, analyzed, and organized into themes in order to present a practical and real-life perspective on how the COMPASS mandate has impacted principals. Findings indicate that principals perceive that COMPASS was implemented too quickly and they have had to change several of their practices as a result. Additionally, principals believe their biggest success in implementing COMPASS was supporting teachers, while they believe their biggest challenge in implementing COMPASS to be setting student learning targets that are both reasonable and challenging, and aligning school practices with those set forth in the COMPASS Rubric. Implications of this research include practical knowledge for current principals and administrators, and a ground-level view for policy makers regarding how mandates and change impact principals, as well as scholars seeking to understand the change process.

Thesis advisor: Laura M. O'Dwyer / This mixed-methods study analyses data from interviews with 29 principals in four school districts, to describe patterns in the principals’ values concerning high-quality mathematics instruction and in the aspects of instruction they noticed when observing short videos of elementary school mathematics classes. Principals valued many aspects of instruction, including elements of general pedagogy, teachers interacting with content and students, content-related pedagogy, students interacting with content, and evidence of student outcomes. As a group, principals noticed the same types of instructional elements that they valued, as well as other, less-commonly-valued elements. Hierarchical linear models were used to compare ratings given to teachers by their principals on three aspects of instructional effectiveness, to scores from video- and student-test-score-based measures of corresponding constructs. Mathematical Quality of Instruction, Classroom Assessment System™ and value-added scores each accounted for unique portions of variance in teachers’ scores on a composite principal rating scale, showing that the underlying “high-quality mathematics” construct measured by principals had some elements in common with each of the other three constructs. However, substantial variance remained unaccounted for, suggesting that principals’ concept of high-quality mathematics also comprises elements not measured by any of the other three instruments. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2015. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Research, Measurement and Evaluation.

This study examined data from Tripod student and teacher surveys administered over three academic years in a midsized urban school district in the United States. Two multifaceted questions guided the research: (1) How do teachers’ student survey ratings tend to behave over time? (2) How, if at all, do trends in student survey ratings relate to certain teacher background characteristics and professional experiences as reported on teacher surveys? Analyses indicated significant improvement in ratings, but only during the district’s first year of student survey implementation. Teachers’ perceptions of principal leadership emerged as the variable most closely tied to increases in ratings over time. Findings varied, however, depending on the dimension of teaching measured. Taken together, the study’s results translate into several specific recommendations for leaders and policymakers interested in instructional improvement and its relationship to student surveys.

This study was undertaken to evaluate the impact of modeling decisions made by those charged with implementing teacher evaluation systems that incorporate student achievement data; such choices include how growth is to be modeled, whether student characteristics are to be controlled for, how many years of data are to be used, and which test subject is to be selected. Using a three-cohort longitudinal data set from a school district in which reading and mathematics test scores from a vertically-scaled assessment allowed determination of growth in grades three, four, and five, estimated teacher effects were derived from five value-added models, and the resulting rank orderings of the teachers were examined. The models compared were a covariate adjustment model that conditioned on prior achievement only, a covariate adjustment model that conditioned on certain student characteristics as well as prior achievement, a gain score model, the growth model underlying the vertically-scaled assessment, and student growth percentiles. Teacher rank orderings derived under the five models were highly consistent with one another using either one or three classroom years of test scores. Only when the movement of teachers between quartiles was examined did a difference in performance between some models emerge. The high degree of consistency between the two covariate adjustment models suggested that control for student-level characteristics was unnecessary. Using three years of test scores rather than one led to a small decrease in between-model correlations and a small increase in teacher movement between quartiles. Comparison of teacher value-added based on reading scores versus mathematics scores gave mixed results, with between-model correlations in mathematics being slightly higher than those for reading but with reading showing greater consistency in quartile movement between cohorts. The year-to-year change in teacher rank orderings was very striking, as low, and even negative, correlations emerged between years. Movement of teachers between quartiles from one year to the next was far greater than that observed when comparing the modeling conditions. Using a teacher rating scheme in which groups of teachers were distinguished from average effectiveness if they appeared in the extremes of the rankings, nearly half of teachers changed ratings from one year to the next. Such low inter-temporal stability of teacher value-added is a significant result that should be considered by all stakeholders in teacher evaluation.

Special education in the public-school setting is designed to support students with disabilities by providing them specially designed instruction to meet their unique needs. This cannot be achieved without special education teachers who undergo specialized training to enable students with a disability to reach their maximum potential. Special education teachers' job duties differ greatly from that of a general education teacher, and they require specialized supports from their administrators. This qualitative study was designed for three purposes: (a) to understand the current teacher evaluation system along with the state and local policies from which the evaluation system is created; (b) to define the unique roles and responsibilities of the special education teacher that the current evaluation process may be failing to identify; and (c) to give special education teachers a voice to describe their experiences with the current teacher evaluation system. A document review of the current Texas Teacher Evaluation and Support System (T-TESS) evaluation rubric and of current state and local teacher evaluation policies preceded focus groups of high school special education teachers from three special education settings: inclusion, self-contained, and resource. Findings showed that teachers across all three settings agreed that T-TESS is not a true reflection of their job and was not created with diversity in mind, thereby failing students with disabilities. When evaluating the T-TESS rubric, only two out of the 16 dimensions uses language that acknowledges diverse learners in the teacher performance grading standards while no dimension mentions working with students with disabilities. This indicates that across all areas of T-TESS, even the most distinguished teacher is not being evaluated on their ability to work and support students with disabilities.