Teacher Evaluation Practices in the Accountability Era

Abstract

In 1996, when Dwyer and Stufflebeam last surveyed teacher evaluation practices and philosophies, they made the following assertion: Teacher evaluation is a highly controversial area, with myriad stakeholders and a wealth of technical, psychological, political, ethical, and educational complexities. Teacher evaluation is relevant to every segment of the educational system, and society at large has an intense interest in how it is carried out and what its impact on education and on individuals’ lives will be. Thus, the criticisms of theory and practice are strongly held, and how (or whether) these criticisms are resolved has direct implications for the quality of American schooling. (Dwyer & Stufflebeam, 1996, p. 768)