School culture, teacher voices, and meaningful feedback: A collective case study of teacher evaluation at three schools

Teacher evaluation is an important but often neglected component of the education system. It exists, but it has often been seen and used as a supervisory tool rather than an opportunity for supported teacher development. As such, both teachers and administrators have dismissed teacher evaluation as a meaningless process when it has the potential to be used to improve teacher expertise and practice, and ultimately, student achievement. Following a qualitative case study approach, this study explored teacher perspectives of evaluation at three different school districts in the Northeast. Teacher experiences indicate that there is merit to standards-based and peer evaluation models, particularly when the evaluation tool focuses on providing relevant and practical feedback for improvement. The study also revealed the importance of school culture for the effectiveness and acceptance of teacher evaluation. Finally, the findings suggest that teachers should be involved in the process of developing and implementing an evaluation system to encourage acceptance and use of the model.