Teacher Demographics and Evaluation: A Descriptive Study in a Large Urban District. REL 2017-189
Author: Bailey, Jessica
Date: 2016-10-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Demography,Teacher Characteristics,Teacher Evaluation,Urban Schools,Public School Teachers,Summative Evaluation,Achievement Rating,Teacher Effectiveness,Teacher Improvement

Nationwide, the prevalence of new educator evaluation systems has increased since the inception of federal initiatives such as the Race to the Top grant competition. Yet limited empirical research examines teacher demographic characteristics and their relationship to teacher evaluation outcomes, such as teacher evaluation ratings. Previous research has examined teacher characteristics and evaluation outcomes but largely in terms of teachers' credentials, such as certification, or personality characteristics, such as enthusiasm, caring, or intelligence, as perceived by the principal. No recently published studies examine teachers' demographic characteristics as they relate to educator evaluation outcomes. Using data from one urban public school district in the Regional Educational Laboratory Northeast &amp; Islands Region that implemented a new educator evaluation system in 2012/13, this study examines teacher summative performance evaluation ratings--ratings that teachers on a one-year, summative evaluation plan receive annually, which have four categories: exemplary, proficient, needs improvement, and unsatisfactory--disaggregated by teacher characteristics, including race/ethnicity, age, and gender. Some public concern had been expressed in this district--and in others across the country--that racial/ethnic minority teachers may be more likely than other teachers to be identified for possible dismissal based on a lower performance rating. As a result the district wanted to examine more closely any patterns in performance ratings over time by teacher demographic characteristics. As other districts and states roll out new evaluation systems, they may face similar concerns related to the distribution of ratings across teachers with different demographic characteristics. This study addressed two topics: (1) whether the percentage of teachers with a below proficient summative performance rating varies by teacher characteristics; and (2) whether the percentage of teachers who improved their summative performance rating over three years varies by teacher characteristics. Tests of statistical significance were not conducted because the study examined a population of teachers. Differences greater than 5 percentage points were deemed to be substantively meaningful and are highlighted in this report. Key findings based on an analysis of teacher ratings from three years (2012/13-2014/15) include: (1) The characteristics of teachers in each of the three years included a disproportionately large percentage of Black teachers, teachers age 50 and older, and male teachers rated below proficient compared with the percentage of those demographics in the population of teachers with a summative performance rating; (2) In all three years the percentage of teachers with a summative performance rating who were rated below proficient was higher among Black teachers than among White teachers, although the gap was smaller in 2013/14 and 2014/15; (3) In all three years the percentage of teachers with a summative performance rating who were rated below proficient was higher among teachers age 50 and older than among teachers younger than age 50; (4) In all three years the difference in the percentage of male and female teachers with a summative performance rating who were rated below proficient was approximately 5 percentage points or less; and (5) The percentage of teachers who improved their rating during all three year-to-year comparisons did not vary by race/ethnicity, age, or gender. The findings provide an overview of teachers' summative performance ratings and their improvement in ratings over time, by teacher characteristics. This report describes patterns in summative performance ratings over three years but does not explain why the patterns exist or to what they may be attributed. Instead, the findings suggest the need for further research on the potential causes of the gaps identified, as well as strategies for ameliorating them. The following are appended: (1) Study data and methodology; and (2) Supplementary tables.