abstract: Increasing public criticism of traditional teacher evaluation systems based largely on classroom observations has spurred an unprecedented shift in the debate surrounding educational accountability policies, specifically about the purposes for and measures used to evaluate teachers. In response to growing public demand and associated federal mandates, states have been prompted to design and implement teacher evaluation systems that use increasingly available, statistically complex models (i.e., value-added) intended to isolate and measure the effects of individual teachers on student academic growth over time. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of school administrators and teachers within one of the largest school districts in the state of Arizona with regards to the design and implementation of a federally-supported, state policy-directed teacher evaluation system based on professional practice and value-added measures. While much research has been conducted on teacher evaluation, few studies have examined teacher evaluation systems in context to better understand the standards of effectiveness used by school administrators and teachers to measure system effectiveness. The perceptions of school administrators and teachers, considering their lived experiences as the subjects of the nation's new and improved teacher evaluation systems in context, must be better understood if state and federal policymakers are to also better recognize and understand the consequences (intended and unintended) associated with the design and implementation of these systems in practice. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2014

Much attention in recent years has gone to the evaluation of teacher effectiveness, and some scholars have developed conceptual models to evaluate the effectiveness. The purpose of this study was to compare three teacher evaluation models – the Texas Professional Development Appraisal System (PDAS), the teacher index model (TI), and the value-added model (VAM) – to determine teacher effectiveness using student demographic and longitudinal academic data. Predictive data from students included economic disadvantage status, ethnicity, gender, participation in special education, limited English proficiency, and performance on Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS). Data serving as dependent variables were scores from Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT®) verbal/critical reasoning and mathematics. These data came from 1,714 students who were 9.7% Hispanic, 9.2% African American, and 81.2% White. The models were tested for 64 English language arts teachers and 109 mathematics teachers, using student examination scores from the SAT® verbal/critical reasoning and mathematics. The data were aligned for specific faculty members and the students whom they taught during the year of the study. The results of the study indicated that the TI and VAM explained approximately 42% of the variance in college entrance exam scores from the SAT® verbal/critical reasoning and mathematics (R2 = 0.418) across mathematics and English language arts teachers, whereas the TI model explained approximately 40% of the variance in the SAT® scores (R2 = 0.402). The difference, however, in the R-squared values between the VAM and the TI model was not statistically significant (t (169) = 1.84, p > 0.05), suggesting that both models provided similar results. The least effective model used to predict student success on college entrance exams was the PDAS, which is a state-adopted model currently in use in over 1,000 school districts in Texas, The teacher PDAS scores explained approximately 36% of the variance in student success on the SAT® (R2 = 0.359). The study provides school leadership with information about alternative methods of evaluating teacher effectiveness without difficult formulas or high costs associated with hiring statisticians. In addition, results indicate that the models vary significantly in the extent to which they can predict which teachers are most effective in preparing students for college. This study also emphasizes the critical need to provide teacher evaluations that align with student achievement on college entrance exams.

Cette thèse contribue à la littérature sur la consommation alimentaire, la malnutrition infantile et la réussite scolaire dans les pays en développement. Le premier chapitre a pour but d’estimer la relation causale entre la malnutrition et la réussite scolaire parmi un échantillon d’enfants malgaches inscrits dans le cycle primaire. Les chocs de pluie endurés lors de la petite enfance sont utilisés comme instruments exogènes pour expliquer le statut nutritionnel de long terme. Les résultats indiquent que les retards de croissance sont un obstacle important pour l’apprentissage scolaire. Le deuxième chapitre examine l’effet des cycles de distribution alimentaire sur la consommation alimentaire de ménages réfugiés. Les résultats suggèrent que la consommation moyenne de céréales diminue au fur et à mesure que l’on s’éloigne du jour de la distribution alimentaire. Cet effet est suffisamment important pour avoir un impact sur le statut nutritionnel de court terme des enfants de notre échantillon. Le troisième chapitre exploite des données de panel sur une cohorte de jeunes adultes malgaches afin d’estimer une fonction de production de capacités cognitives grâce à l’utilisation d’un modèle de valeur ajoutée. Les résultats soulignent le rôle essentiel de la scolarisation dans l’acquisition de capacités cognitives. / This thesis contributes to the literatures on food consumption, child malnutrition and school achievement in developing countries. The first chapter aims at estimating the causal relationship between malnutrition and school achievement among Malagasy children enrolled in primary school. Rainfall shocks during the first years of a child’s life are used as exogenous instruments to predict the long-term nutritional status. Results indicate that stunting is a significant obstacle to learning. The second chapter investigates the effect of food distribution cycle on refugee households’ consumption. Results suggest that the more distant thefood distribution, the less important is household’s consumption of cereals. The effect is sufficiently large to impact children short-term nutritional status. The third chapter takes advantage of a panel database of a cohort of Malagasy young adults to estimate a cognitive skills production function with a value-added approach. Results highlight the large role of schooling in the acquisition of cognitive skills.

In a small, rural school district in the southeastern United States, elementary school teachers were receiving positive evaluation ratings while student proficiency on state assessments was below the state average. Due to changes in federal and state laws, school personnel evaluate methods have undergone significant reform. The purpose of this study was to answer the guiding research questions of teachers and administrators perceptions toward the value-added model (VAM) of evaluation and how those perceptions affect teacher performance. Taylor's scientific management theory, which suggests examining human productivity through the lens of applied science served as the conceptual framework. Data were collected from semistructured interviews with a homogeneous group of 4 elementary teachers and 4 principals. Thematic data followed an open-coding process to identify categories and emergent themes. The findings revealed that teachers believed VAM had little effect on their instructional practice and principals rarely used VAM data to recommend professional development to teachers. This study included the creation of a professional development project to provide a clear understanding of VAM and a method for analyzing student data to inform (a) instruction, (b) pedagogical and content knowledge in the area of balanced literacy and assessments, and (c) a summative review of student data related to VAM. The study and project have implications for positive social change by providing district and school-based leaders with insight into the effects of many decisions related to teacher evaluations.

This master´s thesis is focused on the evalution of company Lázně Poděbrady, a.s. in years 2010 – 2012. The theoretical part describes an issue of company performance measurement and the practical part contains evaluating the performance the chosen company. The last part includes suitable suggestions to ensure the continued performance of the company.