Twenty-First Century Evaluation

The state of North Carolina has recently adopted a new Teacher Evaluation System. It is radically different from it's predecessors. Previously, we focused deeply on classroom observations. The resulting conversations centered almost exclusively on what had been observed in the classroom during that particular visit. Too often, a teacher's leadership in the school, her reflection and resulting growth, and involvement in school improvement efforts were largely ignored. That is not to say that the process did not help teachers. It is safe to say that it was not perfect.

The new Evaluation System strives to "promote effective leadership, quality teaching, and student learning while enhancing professional practice and leading to improved instruction." ( www.ncpublicschools.org/docs/profdev/training/teacher/teacher-eval.PDF) This broader emphasis begins to capture all of the amazing, important things teachers are doing that cannot be witnessed in a single classroom visit. Lasting School Improvement efforts require teamwork, require teacher leadership, and require a focus and understanding of data. Evaluation that focuses on teacher growth in all areas helps increase the capacity of the school to meets the needs of a diverse student body.

Teacher-leaders seek opportunities to demonstrate leadership and in doing so, purposefully move beyond their own classroom walls and bring their expertise into Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) that exist to help members grow. The evaluation system pushes teachers into reflection and in doing so, into a continuous growth cycle.

Beyond attempting to measure more of the teacher's impact on the school, I am particularly excited about the change in the teacher's role in the evaluation process. In the past, as teachers were evaluated by an administrator, they were relatively inactive in the process. They had a conversation in pre-observation conferences and in post-observation reviews, but little beyond.

The new Evaluation System is based on a dynamic role on the part of the teacher. "The teacher will actively participate through the use of self-assessment, reflection, presentation of artifacts, and classroom demonstration(s)." (cited above) Active participation by the teacher is an exciting concept. My belief is that the active role the teacher takes in the Evaluation System will engender a feeling of ownership. Imagine a teacher looking forward to the evaluation process and actually guiding her own evaluation.

The unfortunate truth is that this exciting system has one overwhelming requirement - time! It takes time to have deep conversations with teachers. It takes time to review artifacts. It takes time to conduct classroom observations. Time is a precious commodity in a school. In an economy where allotments of Assistant Principal positions are radically decreasing, the number and frequency of managerial tasks a Principal has to accomplish are increasing. Overflowing plumbing trumps a classroom observation in immediacy even while falling well-short on the priority list.
In my view the new Evaluation System is superior to what we have had. Whether or not it makes a difference in student outcomes will be dependent on teachers and administrators embracing the system, engaging in deep conversations, and giving it the time it requires.