An investigation of the role of a teacher evaluation system and its influence on teacher practice and professional growth in four urban high schools

This study examined the perceptions of Language Arts teachers, Mathematics teachers, and administrators in four high schools in a large urban New Jersey school district regarding a standards-based teacher evaluation system implemented in 2003 adapted and modeled on Enhancing Professional Practice: A Framework for Teaching (Danielson, 1996). The study sought to determine to what extent the implemented teacher evaluation process and the building administrators' roles as teacher evaluators influence improved teacher practice and professional growth. To date, there is no reported research on the extent to which the use of this standards-based model has improved teacher practice and professional growth in this public school district.;This study included two magnet high schools (N=11; n=5 LA, n= 6 Math), and two comprehensive high schools (N=19; n=13 LA, n=6 math). While the magnet schools are highly performing schools and consistently achieve Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), the comprehensive high schools represent a range of performance from moderate to low, in that they may occasionally make AYP, or not, as measured in Language Arts and Mathematics by the NJ High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA) and reported annually in the NJ State Schools Report Card.;A mixed method design was used to gather quantitative (N=30) and qualitative data (N=12; n=6 teachers, n=6 administrators). Data were collected via a teacher questionnaire, teacher and administrator interviews, and review of state, district, and school documents. The survey instrument used, with permission, is the revised "Teacher Evaluation Profile Questionnaire" (TEP) (Stiggins & Duke, 1988). The findings show that teachers and administrators hold similar perceptions about the teacher evaluation process; they view the formative process as having limited impact on improved teacher practice, with the summative evaluation having a greater degree of impact on professional development. Recommendations include:;1. Design and implement measures of oversight to ensure that the teacher evaluation process is implemented with fidelity.;2. Design a study that examines the impact of the use of multiple data sources in teacher evaluation such as artifacts, self-evaluation, and peer evaluation on teacher practice and professional growth.;3. Design a study that examines the specific training needs of teachers and administrators in this district in order to promote a growth-oriented teacher evaluation system.