A case study of teacher evaluation and supervision at a high-achieving urban elementary school.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the teacher evaluation process impacts teacher performance in support of student learning in an urban school district. This qualitative case study examined a high-performing urban elementary school in the Los Angeles county area of southern California to identify key elements of its success by determining the effects of the evaluation process connecting teacher evaluation, teacher effectiveness, and student achievement.
The methodology was based on four research questions developed by a cohort of doctoral students. The four research questions drove the development of a teacher survey, a teacher and administrator interview protocol, an observation tool, and a document analysis tool, all of which were used as data collection instruments. The findings were triangulated to respond to the research questions. Participants included classroom teachers, the site principal, and a district administrator. District and site policy and procedure documents were reviewed, site and classroom observations were made, and confidential survey questionnaires were collected from 19 classroom teachers. One-on-one interviews were conducted with 10 classroom teachers, the site principal, and the district assistant superintendent of human resources.
Data were examined data through four distinct but related lenses: the policy, the practice, the impact and influence of the teacher evaluation process, and its relationship to teacher practice, and ultimately student achievement at a single school site.
Analysis of the questionnaire results, interview responses, and observations by the researcher indicated that, at times, there was a disconnect between the intent and the practice with regard to the full implementation of the district's teacher evaluation process design. The results of this study showed that, at a successful urban school, if there was strong leadership, collaboration, and accountability, the teacher evaluation process was effective in improving teacher practice.