by Lisa Chiplaskey

Created on: June 17, 2008

Are teacher evaluation systems fair?

I believe teacher evaluation systems are fair if supported by sound, statistical methodologies for evaluating student progress. The teacher, however, cannot weigh in on the student project if they are biased in any fashion. Strong adherence to guidelines of outcome or criterion-based evidence, will lead the teacher to the worth of student learning.

After instruction on a subject has taken place, and before a scored assignment is given, the teacher needs to prime the students for the task. The teacher can do this by sharing the expectations to be achieved by discussing the item format that will be used in the testing of the students, test length, difficulty and discrimination level, discuss the scoring procedures that will be used by the teacher to evaluate the work and provide a test blueprint to the student on the main objectives to be learned about the assignment.

When evaluating student work, the teacher has the responsibility of determining the level of learning demonstrated by the student, and by casting a blind eye to the person writing the work itself. The teacher should read the entries by all the students to get an overall feel of the students learning achievements as a whole. After a general peruse of the total entries of student work, the teacher should then reread all entries to determine a score of each individual work based on the total class participation. By evaluating students based on the whole of student involvement, the teacher allows each individual student the opportunity to grow and display themselves on a higher level in future tasks.

Teacher feedback provides the student with understanding of the level of learning that is expected. Teacher feedback is an important element in the evaluation process. By providing goal instruction on a task, the student can then emulate the teacher goals in future work. This provides scaffolding from the teacher as a mentor for the student to proceed from novice to expert on the given subject.

Evaluation is an integral part of the education process. Without evaluation, student achievement would not take place to the level of learning anticipated. Teacher evaluation should be based on effective measurement instruments of validity, reliability and practicality. Because testing in any format measures student' maximum performance, teachers should create conditions under which students will be able to demonstrate their best possible performance. These conditions include adequate preparation of the students to take the test. Adequate preparation includes the imparting of information, skills and attitudes that will facilitate students' maximum performance on the test.

Reference:
Oermann, Marilyn H., Gaberson, Kathleen B. (1998), Evaluation and Testing in Nursing Education, Springer Publishing Company, New York, N.Y.

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