Evaluation Process

• The evaluation process usually includes classroom observation, review of lesson plans and a personal conference after the data-collection process is complete. Typically, a principal conducts the educator reviews and spends up to one hour monitoring classroom instruction. Informal and shorter visits throughout the school year may also occur without a formal evaluation checklist. The two primary categories of evaluation techniques include educative and dominant.
  
  

Dominant Style Evaluations

• Characteristics of a dominant-style evaluation would include common law, product-based models and goal-setting criteria. The "Hunter Model" of reviewing educators focuses on a research or scientific approach to determining teacher effectiveness in the classroom. An evaluation checklist would include specific topics and a scoring table for rating the teacher in each classification under each topic. Such reviews involve focusing on the technical aspects of teaching such as classroom organization, teacher preparedness, student attention and responses, as well as academic effectiveness on standardized tests.
  
  

Educative Model Evaluations

• The educative model of teacher evaluations is also commonly referred to as participative. Educator evaluations are not based on a specific set of criteria as in the dominant model but a more individualized approach. The principal reviews the teacher, taking into account the overall makeup of the classroom environment. This type of approach includes the impact of the student's social or economic backgrounds. While the overall academic progress of the class may be taken into account, it is for the purposes of growth from the prior year and not based upon a state-testing ranking.
  
  

Evaluation Policies

• The philosophy subscribed to by a particular school district must first be explained to the teaching staff. Typically school policies and union contracts play a large factor in how the evaluations are conducted and steps which can be taken to aid or remove substandard teachers. The state department of education may also play a role in how school districts can evaluate teachers. If a teacher receives a poor review during the first evaluation, it is likely that instructions on how to improve will be issued and progress measured when the second evaluation occurs later in the school year.