State legislatures, aware of the concern, want to mandate more effective evaluation. Common methods for evaluating teachers, such as measurement tests of teacher characteristics, student achievement test scores, and ratings of teachers' classroom performance, have been ineffective. Some research has been done to improve the evaluation process, but teacher assessment, in general, remains unorganized. This digest provides information about evaluation types, criteria, methods, procedure, and successful evaluation strategies. Formative evaluation is a tool used to improve instruction.
Summative evaluation is a tool used to make personnel decisions.
Both evaluation uses have received much attention in recent literature as the teaching profession considers evaluation an integral part of staff development and the administration looks to evaluation data as evidence in accountability debates. Yet the teaching methods and techniques of a mathematics teacher differ from those of a music or English teacher. Evaluation criteria must be measurable. Intangible aspects include student rapport and social responsibility while tangible aspects comprise well-written lesson plans and test scores. The wide range of suggested criteria for evaluating teachers has resulted in numerous methods designed to quantify those criteria.