Teacher Evaluation Systems: A Literature Review on Issues and Impact

Abstract

Teacher evaluation systems are associated with teacher quality, accountability, performance observations, and support. These systems are typically comprised of multiple measures including at least observations of teaching and student performance data reflecting teacher impact. Many criticisms of these systems have emerged not necessarily from the measures themselves but from how they are used and the consistency with which the larger system is implemented. Concerns like evaluator training, reliability of results, distinctions between teacher quality and teaching quality, and repercussions of an ambiguous system for individual teachers, just to name a few, are recurring themes in the literature. In all, these systems are purported to foster teacher professional growth; however, ensuring clarity of purpose, sound accountability measures, and formative utility of results is a crucial milestone before the validity of these systems can be recognized.