Book Description

Author's abstract: Teacher evaluations can be a tool for increasing teacher effectiveness and accountability if it is determined how evaluations can be best used. According to current literature, this is not the case. It is more pertinent than ever that administrators use evaluations to strengthen marginal teachers and further develop skills of teachers who are already proficient. However, few studies exist pertaining to teacher and administrator perceptions of teacher evaluation effectiveness and even fewer focus Georgia teacher evaluations. The purpose of this descriptive study was to investigate perceptions of the teacher evaluation process held by teachers and administrators in southeast Georgia so that improvements to the teacher evaluation process could be considered. Survey data were collected (277 teachers and 12 administrators) representing three rural school districts in southeast Georgia. Data collection tools included the Teacher Evaluation Profile for Teachers and Administrators. Both included questions that participants rated based on a Likert-type scale. In addition to the Likert-types questions, one-open ended question was included that allowed teachers and administrators to reflect upon the current process for teacher evaluation used in their systems. Findings from both the Likert-type response questions and the open-ended question were analyzed with comparative differences between the survey and the open-iiended response data. Data were analyzed by position (teacher and administrator). Responses on the survey questions were positive from both teachers and administrators. A large number of teachers (43.73%) indicated that the evaluation process in their system was average and that these evaluations had a strong impact on professional practices (20.15%). According to teachers, the strongest attribute of the evaluation process was that the feedback focused on the standards whereas administrators indicated that the timing of the feedback was the greatest attribute of the evaluation process. In addition, administrators believed that teacher evaluations have the greatest impact on student learning. This study demonstrated that both teachers and administrators are reasonably satisfied with the teacher evaluation process. This study resulted in limited findings that would indicate a complete overhaul of the evaluation process, but it suggests that minor changes could be made to enhance the overall usefulness of teacher evaluations.