A Comparison of TASA Model and Danielson´s Framework for Teaching

This paper will effectively detail the issues surrounding policy as it pertains to teacher reform for New Jersey Tenure Laws. I will discuss why this new reform has made it impossible to terminate non-effective teachers because of the protection that TEACHNJ provides. I will also discuss inaccuracies as it pertains to accountability and transparency under the new tenure laws. Lastly, I will discuss the teacher rating system and evaluation system that rates teachers in four categories, from highly effective to ineffective. Teacher evaluations would be based on measures of student learning, such as improvement of state test scores, student work, and other practices linked to student achievement. The New Jersey Education Association has proposed streamlining the legal process for removing teachers, but has adamantly defended the basic job protection of tenure, saying it prevents unfair dismissal, favoritism and attempts to save money by firing expensive veterans. The state’s largest teacher’s union also vehemently opposes judging teachers largely on test scores, saying that doing so penalizes teachers with the most difficult students, and that the data is unreliable. Teachers are fearful of losing their jobs if they don’t raise test scores, teachers will redouble their test-preparation efforts, and quality instruction will be sacrificed,” NJEA President Barbara Keshishian said in a statement. “Parents should be alarmed and dismayed at this proposal.” (Brody)

Educational policies guide professional practice. By developing policies, agencies determine appropriate courses of action to aid individuals in applying a set of procedures in a systematic and equitable manner. My essay describes the Spotsylvania County Public School’s (SCPS) policy on Teacher Evaluation and traces its roots through the various levels of regulatory entities. In order to provide a rich context, pertinent case law and applicable literature in terms of the topic is also presented within the essay.

This paper summarizes some key theme in the InTASC standards of teaching learners. There are two themes that seem to be throughout the standards and these are learner focus and collaboration with not only students, but between teachers. These standards are vital to the learning environment of students and gives teachers the resources that they need to enable their students to be successful.

Standers developed a system that measure a student’s performance and ranks teachers based on that performance. Ravitch believed that this system is flawed and unfair to teachers and don’t take into account other variables such as students with disabilities and non english speaking students.

First of all, continual feedback allows teachers to self-reflect on best practices. For example, a teacher can target his/her areas of weakness in order to grow professionally and gain further insight of best practices. Another benefit, of teacher evaluations is higher student success rates. These, for example, are measurable through district assessments and state standardized assessments. If a teachers success rate has significantly improved through modification of practices, T-TESS has served its intended purpose. Finally, yet another benefit of teacher evaluations is the fact that the educator is an active participant in his/her evaluation process. For example, through goal setting, the educator is allowed the opportunity to decide where he/she want to grow. Through the evaluation cycle and the communication therein, the appraiser and educator both take greater responsibility in understanding and meeting established goals. Finally, at the end of the process, student growth is an indicator of a well-developed and integrated evaluation system. These are but a few of the many benefits reaped from an evaluation systems such as T-TESS (TEA,

One Sturgeon Bay High School teacher by the name of Nicole Herbst, works as an educator in the art department, and was open to give her opinion on student-teacher evaluation as well as her concerns. Mrs. Herbst, like many others, brought up the worry of students not taking the assessment seriously. However, she acknowledged and supported the idea, that if the examination was done in the right way, it would be valuable. When asked, should high school students be able to evaluate their teachers? Mrs. Herbst answered with, “Yes, they should be allowed to, but as long as it is set up with different questions, criteria, and the teachers are given the rubric first, that's what we did with college professors. That way, it is fair for the students to think about different areas to score them on, as well as to show what strengths and weaknesses there could be in order for the teacher to get feedback on what could be working or what is confusing with their teaching style. Also, if the teachers know what they are getting graded on, like we should offer for the students, it helps to know what the teachers should professionally focus on more. It helps if the grading is in a survey style and rating system with areas to offer specific comments versus just one flat grade in order to truly be effective.” Her

Assessment of performance is paramount in the workplace and the framework helps faculty ensure they are teaching students to be able to effectively engage in reflection of performance and implement strategies of improving effectiveness of instruction. Not only must students learn this necessary skill, but faculty must also reflect on their instruction and assess their performance so they can implement strategies on becoming better educators as

How do we improve the quality of teachers we have in the classrooms now effectively. Wiliams explains at the end of chapter one, “we have to improve the quality of those teachers already working in our schools” by “love the ones you’re with” strategy (Wiliam, 2011). Then in chapter two it discusses how formative assessment is used and multiple ways, which I try to find ways I can help teachers within the classroom. The most effective example that Wiliams gives in chapter two, in my position is example the one dealing with developing professional development for teachers in math (p.40).

Should K-12 student surveys of their teachers be used to determine whether they get a boost in salary or be judged effective or ineffective? Based on surveys given to students about their teachers over the past decade, student judgments about their teachers are highly correlated with test scores. These questions measure classroom control and the degree to which teachers challenge students to work harder with academic content and skills. The New Teacher Project, a national nonprofit based in Brooklyn that recruits and trains new teachers, last school year used student surveys to evaluate 460 of its 1,006 teachers. In higher education, students have evaluated their professors’ teaching and course content for decades. Controversial or not in higher education, reform-driven policymakers and foundation officials, eager to find another metric beyond unstable end-of-year test scores that simply and inexpensively judges K-12 teacher performance, look to researchers to quantify student perceptions of how and what their teachers teach. Not, however, if student perceptions of teaching are sliced and diced to fit into little boxes that can be checked off by principals and superintendents to determine teacher effectiveness and pay.

In investigating about the evaluation procedures for many different positions of a school, I learned a great deal about how, when, and why. There is a system in place for most employees and their evaluation procedures. Teachers are evaluated according to their license status and the previous year’s TVAAS score. This can mean they have anywhere between two to six evaluations throughout the year. Some will be scheduled but others are unannounced to allow for teacher accountability. On top of these evaluations, teachers are also check upon during Response to Intervention (RTI). These checks are called “fidelity checks” and are used to ensure teachers are following state procedures put into place regarding their tier and student needs.

By utilizing well researched and comprehensive frameworks, such as Danielson’s I would focus on the intent of the evaluations as a learning activity, engaging teachers in self- reflective discussions and the opportunity to create their own goals for professional development. Of course, I realize that there would be instances where people would need more guidance or structure, but I feel that the nature of the Danielson framework allows for a principal to design a relevant professional development plan as

The result of these assessment procedures promote higher performance by educators because educators don’t know when they are going to be observed. This automatically

Schools around the country are trying to figure out how to make their teachers and schools better. Currently, they use standardized test scores from the students to see how well the teacher teaches the subject and observations made by other administrators. There is enough information for the administrators to see the progress of the teacher, but if students tell their point of view about how the teachers teach and their opinion on the teacher administrators will have a little more information. They need more evidence that their teachers are teaching and actually helping them.

The Framework for Teaching by Charlotte Danielson has been developed through research as a guideline for current and future teacher’s professional responsibilities in and out of the classroom. Districts throughout the country are using this framework to assess and guide their teachers to build successful methods of planning and preparations, setting up the classroom environment, instruction and professional responsibilities. Each of these domains builds off of each other to form a successful learning environment. Domain 3 focuses more specifically on instruction using communication, discussions, engagement, assessments and flexibility.

Teachers’ performance evaluation is definitely not a new trend. However, what is new is the deep