University faculty think Indiana’s state-mandated teacher evaluations will offer more rigor and accountability, but they’re worried principals may run into trouble because of inexperience in using data to evaluate teachers, according to an issue brief from Indiana University. In addition, delays in 2015 ISTEP scores could make the job of evaluating even tougher for administrators.
With state law requiring teacher evaluations using both classroom observations and objective measures such as standardized test scores, university professors in education must adapt their methods of preparing principals who will conduct the evaluations.
“Although the changes to Indiana’s teacher-evaluation law did not outline any new requirements for education leadership faculty or curricula, these policies certainly impact faculty members’ work of training school leaders,” said Colleen Chesnut, research associate of the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy in the IU School of Education and one of the authors of the issue brief titled “University Faculty Perceptions of Teacher Evaluation Law in Indiana.” CEEP research associate Molly S. Stewart and graduate student Anna Sera also authored the brief.
Indiana’s teachers are evaluated using a rating system of “ineffective,” “improvement necessary,” “effective” and “highly effective.” Those who are not rated effective or highly effective cannot receive raises.
The result of the state teacher evaluation law at the university level for aspiring administrators is an emphasis on evaluation theory along with practicing the evaluation process and study of teacher evaluation rubrics, university faculty told the IU researchers.
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