A Comparison of Classification Issues across Teacher Effectiveness Measures

Authors

  • Jon Brasfield University of Findlay

Abstract

In an educational landscape where teacher evaluation methods are increasingly discussed and scrutinized in research offices, legislatures, and school buildings, the differences in policy and instrumentation among states and school districts can paint a confusing picture of these varying methods and their impacts. To help assess the picture in North Carolina, this study examined teacher effectiveness data on 147 teachers from 16 schools in a large urban school district. Three measures of teacher effectiveness (a value-added measure of student growth, a third-party observation score, and state-mandated principal evaluations) were examined with a particular focus on how teachers were classified via the different methods. The research question examined the similarities and differences in classification across the measures. Correlational, cross-tabular, and agreement statistic results suggested that the value-added measure and the third-party observational measure were not independent. It was also found that principal ratings did little to differentiate between teachers.

Author Biography

Jon Brasfield, University of Findlay

Assistant Professor, College of Education

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Published

2016-11-16

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Section

Research Articles