To be Effective, any Teacher Effectiveness or Merit Pay Evaluation Must be Holistic in Nature

Topics of teacher effectiveness and merit pay have developed from such programs as the NCLB reform and the Race to the Top grant programs. Individual states such as Florida, Colorado, and California, to name a few, have begun to step up to the plate in designing their own evaluation plans for these programs.

If nothing else, the Race to the Top grant program has become a catalyst for change to a more efficient and effective paradigm: that being a more holistic evaluation plan that takes a host of factors into account and puts power into the hands of school leadership to work together with teachers and parents for improved student achievement, a school culture geared toward learning, and a cadre of young people prepared for the post-high school plans of their choice.

An effective evaluation of teacher effectiveness comes not from one test, nor from testing (or any other one factor) alone, but from a comprehensive array of factors. While the only true measure of teacher effectiveness may come from the results of a student's life ten years hence (my 8th grade math teacher comes to mind, who helped students feel valuable and confident in their abilities), schools can and should design a holistic evaluation for teacher effectiveness and merit pay scenarios. These factors may include, but are not limited to, the following (schools may want to focus on different aspects depending on their school's purpose):

• Student test scores
• Teacher observations and interviews
• Teacher self-reports
• Teacher portfolios of their work
• Parent involvement and interaction

Some argue that there are many factors beyond a teachers' control (such as socio-economic status, broken homes, etc.), and they fear that teachers will be held accountable for those factors. While I am not advocating that teachers be called on the carpet for these situations, there is more to a teacher's effectiveness than simply test scores.

As states and schools wrestle with defining and evaluating teacher effectiveness, they may want to ask themselves the following questions:

1. What difference are teachers making in their students' lives?
2. How are teachers preparing students to succeed in and out of the classroom?
3. Do students develop a love for learning because of their teachers?
4. Is the school culture geared toward learning, or is it run like a business or an assembly line?
5. Are teachers rewarded for their efforts in their students' learning, thus giving teachers the motivation to think beyond the textbook?
6. Are teachers given access to professional development opportunities and other resources to build their skills and increase their ability to help make a difference?
7. Do school administrators make the time to meet with teachers often to encourage efforts and provide guidance?

If a teacher is being paid to simply exist in the classroom, then we as a society are doing our children a disservice.

Designing and executing a comprehensive evaluation of teacher effectiveness and merit pay will not only provide visibility and evidence of effectiveness, but will pinpoint areas for improvement so that schools may allocate resources where they are most needed. An effective evaluation spans the whole realm of a given program, and directly stems from the missions and goals of an organization. Schools and states would do well to step back and formulate a theory of change (also known as a logic model, impact map, etc.), and then use that information to create long-term evaluation plans to help capitalize on strengths, identify areas of improvement, and develop their capacity to evaluate their programs.