Conceptualising and evaluating teacher quality: substantive and methodological issues.

Conceptualising and evaluating teacher quality: substantive and methodological issues. Whereas findings from recent research highlight the importance ofteacher quality in improving students' academic performances andexperiences of schooling, substantive and methodological issuessurrounding sur��round?tr.v. sur��round��ed, sur��round��ing, sur��rounds1. To extend on all sides of simultaneously; encircle.2. To enclose or confine on all sides so as to bar escape or outside communication.n. the conceptualisation (artificial intelligence) conceptualisation - The collection of objects, concepts and other entities that are assumed to exist in some area of interest and the relationships that hold among them. and evaluation of teacher quality arenot well understood. Such deficiencies are particularly evident inclaims for 'findings' derived from econometric e��con��o��met��rics?n. (used with a sing. verb)Application of mathematical and statistical techniques to economics in the study of problems, the analysis of data, and the development and testing of theories and models. research--especially from those studies that merely employconceptualisations and proxy 'measures' of quality in terms ofteachers' qualifications, experience, and students' academicoutcomes. Moreover, the econometric models Econometric models are used by economists to find standard relationships among aspects of the macroeconomy and use those relationships to predict the effects of certain events (like government policies) on inflation, unemployment, growth, etc. fitted to the available,mostly aggregated data, typically fail to conceptualise v. t. 1. same as conceptualize.Verb 1. conceptualise - have the idea for; "He conceived of a robot that would help paralyzed patients"; "This library was well conceived"conceive, conceptualize, gestate and'measure' teacher quality in terms of what teachers shouldknow (subject-matter SUBJECT-MATTER. The cause, the object, the thing in dispute. 2. It is a fatal objection to the jurisdiction of the court when it has not cognizance of the subject-matter of the action; as, if a cause exclusively of admiralty jurisdiction were brought in a court knowledge) and be able to do (pedagogical ped��a��gog��ic? also ped��a��gog��i��caladj.1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of pedagogy.2. Characterized by pedantic formality: a haughty, pedagogic manner. skill).Nor do such models account for the measurement, distributional andstructural properties of the data for response and explanatory ex��plan��a��to��ry?adj.Serving or intended to explain: an explanatory paragraph.ex��plan variables--failings that all too frequently yield misleadinginterpretations of findings for both policy and practice. After brief introductory comments related to current contexts, thepaper focuses on two approaches towards the resolution currentdeficiencies--both of which have important implications forconceptualising and evaluating teacher quality: (1) capacity building inteacher professionalism professionalismthe upholding by individuals of the principles, laws, ethics and conventions of their profession. grounded in evidence-based pre-service teachereducation This article or section is written like an .Please help [ rewrite this article] from a neutral point of view.Mark blatant advertising for , using . content and subsequent in-service in-serviceIn-service training adjective Referring to any form of on-the-job training noun In-service training of an employee professional development and(2) the specification and evaluation of teaching standards. The paperconcludes by arguing that, since the most valuable resource available toany school are its teachers, there is a crucial need for both asubstantive and methodological refocus Verb 1. refocus - focus once again; The physicist refocused the light beam"focus - cause to converge on or toward a central point; "Focus the light on this image"2. of the prevailing economicteacher-quality/student-performance/merit-pay research and policy agendato one that focuses on the need for capacity building in teacherprofessionalism (and its evaluation) in terms of teaching standardsrelated to what teachers should know and be able to do. Keywords teacher quality performance student achievement conceptual distinctions evaluation accreditation accreditation,n a process of formal recognition of a school or institution attesting to the required ability and performance in an area of education, training, or practice. standards Introductory comments Consistent with the adoption of corporate management models ineducational governance Governance makes decisions that define expectations, grant power, or verify performance. It consists either of a separate process or of a specific part of management or leadership processes. Sometimes people set up a government to administer these processes and systems. and the prevailing climate of outcomes-driveneconomic rationalism Economic rationalism is an Australian term in discussion of microeconomic policy, applicable to the economic policy of many governments around the world, in particular during the 1980s and 1990s. in which such models operate, policy activityrelated to issues of accountability, assessment, standards monitoringand benchmarking, performance indicators, quality assurance, teacherquality, school and teacher effectiveness are widespread: for example,see Access Economics (2005); Alton-Lee (2002, 2005); Curtis and Keeves(2000); Fenstermacher and Richardson (2005); Hanushek (1971, 1986,2004); Ingvarson et al. (2006); Ingvarson and Kleinhenz (2006a, b);Kleinhenz and Ingvarson (2004); Marsh,Rowe and Martin (2002); OECD OECD:see Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. (2005, 2006);Rowe (2001, 2004a);Rowe and Stephanou (2003). Butpolitical, economic and industrial issues surrounding educationaleffectiveness are sensitive, despite the level of non-partisan politicalconsensus (at least in Australia) regarding the macroeconomic mac��ro��ec��o��nom��ics?n. (used with a sing. verb)The study of the overall aspects and workings of a national economy, such as income, output, and the interrelationship among diverse economic sectors. andmicroeconomic mi��cro��ec��o��nom��ics?n. (used with a sing. verb)The study of the operations of the components of a national economy, such as individual firms, households, and consumers. importance of teacher quality and quality teaching forequipping e��quip?tr.v. e��quipped, e��quip��ping, e��quips1. a. To supply with necessities such as tools or provisions.b. students adequately to meet the constantly changing demands ofthe modern workplace (e.g., Bishop, 2007; Macklin, 2006; Nelson, 2002,2004). The global economic, technological and social changes under way,requiring responses from an increasingly skilled workforce, makehigh-quality educational provision an imperative--especiallyhigh-quality teaching. Although OECD education ministers have committedtheir countries to the goal of raising the quality of learning for all,this ambitious goal will not be achieved unless all learners,irrespective of irrespective ofprep.Without consideration of; regardless of.irrespective ofpreposition despitetheir characteristics, backgrounds and locations,receive high-quality teaching (OECD, 2001, 2005). Since teachers are themost valuable resource available to both schools and higher education higher educationStudy beyond the level of secondary education. Institutions of higher education include not only colleges and universities but also professional schools in such fields as law, theology, medicine, business, music, and art. institutions in the realisation of this goal, an investment in teacherquality and ongoing professionalism is vital. In our view, this goal canonly be realised by ensuring that teachers are equipped withsubject-matter knowledge and an evidence--and standards-based repertoire Repertoire may mean Repertory but may also refer to: Repertoire (theatre), a system of theatrical production and performance scheduling Repertoire Records, a German record label specialising in 1960s and 1970s pop and rock reissues of pedagogical skills that are demonstrably de��mon��stra��ble?adj.1. Capable of being demonstrated or proved: demonstrable truths.2. Obvious or apparent: demonstrable lies. effective in meeting thedevelopmental and learning needs of all students for whom they haveresponsibility--regardless of students' backgrounds and intakecharacteristics, and whether or not they experience learningdifficulties. (See Coltheart and Prior, 2007; Darling-Hammond &Bransford, 2005; Farkota, 2005; Hattie, 1987, 2003, 2005a; Hoad et al.,2005; Purdie & Ellis ELLIS - EuLisp LInda System. An object-oriented Linda system written for EuLisp. "Using Object-Oriented Mechanisms to Describe Linda", P. Broadbery <pab@maths.bath.ac.uk> et al, in Linda-Like Systems and Their Implementation, G. Wilson ed, U Edinburgh TR 91-13, 1991. , 2005; Rowe, 2005a, b, 2006a; Slavin, 2005;Stronge, 2002; Westwood, 2006; Wheldall, 2006.) Despite the emphasis placed on the importance of teacher qualityand quality teaching in recent OECD publications, as well as similaremphases underlying the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-110), commonly known as NCLB (IPA: /ˈnɪkəlbiː/), is a United States federal law that was passed in the House of Representatives on May 23, 2001 in the USA (seeCenter on Education Policy, 2003; LaTrice-Hill, 2002; US Department ofEducation, 2002), the bulk of international scholarly discourseconcerned with educational effectiveness has largely ignored theimportance of specifying standards of instructional effectiveness andtheir evaluation for teacher registration, accreditation and ongoingprofessional development. With few exceptions, especially from therelated school effectiveness research literature (e.g., Mortimore, 1991;Reynolds et al., 2002), discussions that that focus on the constituent CONSTITUENT. He who gives authority to another to act for him. 1 Bouv. Inst. n. 893. 2. The constituent is bound with whatever his attorney does by virtue of his authority. elements of teacher quality in terms of what teachers should know and beable to do (i.e., instructional effectiveness or the what and how ofquality teaching) are conspicuous con��spic��u��ous?adj.1. Easy to notice; obvious.2. Attracting attention, as by being unusual or remarkable; noticeable. See Synonyms at noticeable. by their absence. (For examples ofexceptions, see Bond et al., 2000; Darling-Hammond & Baratz-Snowden,2005; Darling-Hammond & Bransford, 2005; Fenstermacher &Richardson, 2005; Fullan et al., 2006; Ingvarson et al, 2006; Ingvarson& Kleinhenz, 2006a, b;Rowe, 2002, in press a, b.) Rather, thedominant emphasis continues to be characterised by offerings advocatingstructural changes for systemic systemic/sys��tem��ic/ (sis-tem��ik) pertaining to or affecting the body as a whole. sys��tem��icadj.1. Of or relating to a system.2. reform, including curriculumreconstruction, single-sex schooling single-sex schooln → escuela no mixtasingle-sex schooln → ��cole f non mixtesingle-sex schooln → , class size (see Hattie, 2005b) andso on, that have a long and not-so-distinguished history of rarelypenetrating penetratingbreaching the tissues of the body. the classroom door. A note about methodological limitations endemic endemic/en��dem��ic/ (en-dem��ik) present or usually prevalent in a population at all times. en��dem��icadj.1. to econometricresearch focusing on the link between teacher quality and studentacademic performance is appropriate here (e.g., Hanushek, 1971, 2004;Monk monk:see monasticism. , 1992; Podgursky et al., 2004; Rivkin et al., 2001). Since theselimitations are well established, they need not be reiterated here indetail. (For relevant examples, see Goldstein Gold��stein, Joseph Leonard Born 1940.American biochemist. He shared a 1985 Nobel Prize for discoveries related to cholesterol metabolism. , 1997, 2003; Goldstein& Spiegelhalter, 1996; Hill & Rowe, 1996, 1998; Millman, 1997;Raudenbush & Bryk, 1988; Raudenbush & Willms, 1991, 1995; Rowe,2000, 2004b, 2006b, 2007; Rowe & Hill, 1998.) In brief, however, anextensive body of work indicates that the single-level econometricmodels typically fitted to the available data employing general linearmodel techniques under ordinary-least-squares estimation estimationIn mathematics, use of a function or formula to derive a solution or make a prediction. Unlike approximation, it has precise connotations. In statistics, for example, it connotes the careful selection and testing of a function called an estimator. , areinappropriate on at least two counts. First, they fail to conceptualise,measure and evaluate teacher quality in terms of what teachers shouldknow (subject-matter knowledge) and can do (pedagogical competence).Second, such models rarely account for the measurement, distributionaland structural properties of the data for response and explanatoryvariables--oversights that all too frequently yield misleadinginterpretations of findings for both policy and practice. Failures to account for the inherent hierarchical structure See hierarchical. of thedata are particularly problematic. Findings from fitting explanatorymulti-level models to relevant data (at the student, class/teacher andschool levels) consistently indicate that in excess of 40 per cent ofthe residual variance Residual variance or unexplained variance is part of the variance of any residual. The other part is explained variance. In analysis of variance and regression analysis, residual variance is that part of the variance which cannot be attributed to specific causes. in measures of student performance (adjusted forstudents' background and intake characteristics) is at theclass/teacher level (see citations given above as the relevant examplesfor methodological limitations); and for key findings from meta-analyticsyntheses of more than 500 000 evidence-based studies, see Hattie, 2003,2005a). These findings are especially useful. By identifying that themajor sources of residual variation in students' learning andachievement progress are at the class/teacher level, they assist inspecifying and evaluating teacher quality in terms of what qualityteachers should know and be able to do. Moreover, such findingsconstitute invaluable data for informed, evidence-based content ofpre-service teacher education and subsequent in-service professionaldevelopment (Ingvarson, 2003: Rowe KS, Pollard pollardfine protein-rich feed supplement for farm animals; a byproduct from the milling of wheat for flour. Called also shorts. & Rowe KJ, 2005), aswell as for the specification and evaluation of teaching standards(Ingvarson et al., 2006; Ingvarson & Kleinhenz, 2006a, b). Rather than focusing on the economics of teacher quality per se,the present paper stresses the need for policies and processes designedto improve teacher quality through building teacher capacity, includingthe need for valid methods of specifying and evaluating teacher quality,as well as teaching standards. Whereas such policies and processes haveuniversal applicability, this paper focuses on the urgent need for theadoption of these policies and procedures Policies and Procedures are a set of documents that describe an organization's policies for operation and the procedures necessary to fulfill the policies. They are often initiated because of some external requirement, such as environmental compliance or other governmental throughout Australian Australianpertaining to or originating in Australia.Australian bat lyssavirus diseasesee Australian bat lyssavirus disease.Australian cattle doga medium-sized, compact working dog used for control of cattle. education systems. The need for valid methods of assessing teacher quality Pronouncements on the importance of teacher quality to studentlearning outcomes usually recognise the need to place greater value onteaching if the profession is to attract and retain high-qualitygraduates from schools and universities (DEST DEST DestinationDEST DestroyDEST Department of Education, Science and Training (Australia)DEST Department of the Environment, Sport and Territories (Australia), 2003; Ramsey, 2000). Themajor argument of this paper is that we will find it difficult to placegreater value on teaching in substantive ways, such as better salariesand career paths for accomplished teachers, unless we greatly improvethe capacity of the profession to define, evaluate and certify cer��ti��fy?v. cer��ti��fied, cer��ti��fy��ing, cer��ti��fiesv.tr.1. a. To confirm formally as true, accurate, or genuine.b. high-quality teaching. (For a detailed review of national andinternational approaches to evaluating and rewarding accomplishedteaching, see Ingvarson & Kleinhenz, 2006a). Policies with respect to teacher quality fall into two main groups:policies designed to affect the composition of the teacher workforce andpolicies designed to improve the capacity of individual teachers.Strategies in both areas are obviously important. Australia shares theproblem of attracting and retaining a necessary share of the bestgraduates from schools and universities (OECD, 2001). A recent synthesisof research on attitudes to teaching as a career found that extrinsicfactors extrinsic factorn.See vitamin B12. such as remuneration REMUNERATION. Reward; recompense; salary. Dig. 17, 1, 7. , workload The term workload can refer to a number of different yet related entities. An amount of laborWhile a precise definition of a workload is elusive, a commonly accepted definition is the hypothetical relationship between a group or individual human operator and task demands. , employment conditions and statuswere the most significant factors influencing able graduates not tochoose teaching, and to leave the profession (DEST, 2006). If theability of the teaching profession to compete with other occupations forthe best graduates is to increase, research indicates that teachingsalaries relative to those in related professions is the most importancefactor (e.g., Dolton et al., 2001), especially relative salaries after10 to 15 years in the job. This paper focuses mainly on policies related to improving teacherquality through building capacity, though it is recognised that thesetwo strategies overlap. Policies designed to improve career paths andrewards for good teaching, for example, may aim to affect bothcomposition and capacity if rewards are linked to evidence ofappropriate professional development. Measures of composition typicallyfocus on demographic data such as socioeconomic status socioeconomic status,n the position of an individual on a socio-economic scale that measures such factors as education, income, type of occupation, place of residence, and in some populations, ethnicity and religion. , TER Third version. See bis. (tertiary tertiary(tûr`shēârē), in the Roman Catholic Church, member of a third order. The third orders are chiefly supplements of the friars—Franciscans (the most numerous), Dominicans, and Carmelites. entrance) scores, and grade point averages. Measures of capacity focuson data about what teachers know and do in schools and classrooms. Why do we need better methods for measuring teacher quality? The2006 edition of the OECD's report Education at a Glance (OECD,2006) indicates that whereas the average ratio of the salary at the topof the incremental Additional or increased growth, bulk, quantity, number, or value; enlarged.Incremental cost is additional or increased cost of an item or service apart from its actual cost. scale is 1.70, it is only 1.47 in Australia. It isnearly 3 in Korea and Japan. The typical salary scale for teachers inAustralia does not place high value on evidence of teacher quality.Consequently, it is a weak instrument for improving student achievement.It does not provide incentives for professional development or rewardevidence of attaining high standards of performance. This ratio seemsunlikely to improve unless further salary increments are linked toevidence of enhanced teacher knowledge and skill. Thirteen of 32 OECDcountries report that they adjust the base salary of teachers on thebasis of outstanding performance in teaching or successful completion ofprofessional development activities. Australia is not one of them. While progression to the top of the salary ladder is rapid inAustralia--it takes only 9 years for most Australian teachers to reachthe top of the scale compared with 24 years on average in OECDcountries--there are no further career stages based on evidence ofattaining higher levels of teaching standards. The implicit message inmost Australian salary scales is that teachers are not expected toimprove their performance after 9 years. While making progress to thetop of the scale slower would be one solution, given the low ratio ofthe top Australian teaching salary to the bottom when comparedinternationally, this would likely exacerbate rather than solve theproblem. We suggest that the profession needs clearer guidelines guidelines,n.pl a set of standards, criteria, or specifications to be used or followed in the performance of certain tasks. as towhat it expects its members to get better at with experience. Indeed,the salary scale provides few incentives for continued development ofexpertise in teaching. The relationship between evidence of professionaldevelopment and salary progression is weak in teaching. A recent survey of public opinion about teacher quality in the USAfound that all groups recognised the importance of teacher quality andstrongly support reforms that will lead to significant increases inteacher salaries, if those reforms will also provide better guaranteesthat these increases reward evidence of professional development andquality teaching (Hart & Teeter, 2002). Public attitudes inAustralia are probably not much different. But guarantees of qualityteaching will be meaningless without valid methods of measuring teacherperformance. There has been renewed discussion about performance-basedpay in Australia as Australia A may refer to: The Australia A cricket team The Australia A rugby union team a means of placing greater value on teaching. Aforthcoming review of research in this area by the Australian Councilfor Educational Research The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) is a non-governmental educational research organisation based in Camberwell, Victoria and with offices in Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Dubai and India. (ACER), commissioned by the CommonwealthDepartment of Education, Science and Training (DEST), indicates that thereason for so many failed merit pay Noun 1. merit pay - extra pay awarded to an employee on the basis of merit (especially to school teachers)pay, remuneration, salary, wage, earnings - something that remunerates; "wages were paid by check"; "he wasted his pay on drink"; "they saved a quarter of all schemes over the past 30 years hasbeen the lack of understanding about the complexity of developing validand professionally credible methods for gathering data about teachingand assessing teacher performance (Ingvarson, Kleinhenz & Wilkinson,2007). Unlike most other professions, the teaching profession has found itdifficult to create a strong market for highly accomplishedpractitioners.A major reason for this is that the profession has yet todevelop a voluntary system for providing certification to teachers whoattain high standards of performance, at least one that employingauthorities find credible and useful (Ingvarson & Kleinhenz, 2006b).There are many highly accomplished teachers, but no profession-widesystem by which they can gain a highly respected and portablecertification of their accomplishments. Consequently, incentives forteachers to provide evidence of professional development through stagesof increasing expertise are weak. Despite the paucity pau��ci��ty?n.1. Smallness of number; fewness.2. Scarcity; dearth: a paucity of natural resources. of incentives, there are strong indicationsthat many in the profession wish to move down this path. A strongermarket for highly accomplished teachers may be critical in areas ofteacher shortage. This is partly why the Australian Science TeachersAssociation and the Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers havedeveloped their own standards for highly accomplished teachers in recentyears (Brinkworth, 2004; Semple & Ingvarson, 2006). Several othersubject associations are undertaking similar initiatives. School systemswithin Australia are also looking for Looking forIn the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. better ways to recognise and toretain good teachers, such as the Level 3 Classroom Teacher scheme inWestern Australia Western Australia,state (1991 pop. 1,409,965), 975,920 sq mi (2,527,633 sq km), Australia, comprising the entire western part of the continent. It is bounded on the N, W, and S by the Indian Ocean. Perth is the capital. . The forthcoming ACER review on performance-based pay found evidencethat there is a stronger demand--in the sense of a greater capacity tooffer over-award payments--for highly accomplished teachers inindependent schools. The New South Wales New South Wales,state (1991 pop. 5,164,549), 309,443 sq mi (801,457 sq km), SE Australia. It is bounded on the E by the Pacific Ocean. Sydney is the capital. The other principal urban centers are Newcastle, Wagga Wagga, Lismore, Wollongong, and Broken Hill. Association of IndependentSchools is introducing a system of remuneration based on increasinglevels of professional standards (Newcombe, 2007). This applies at theentry level as well. In 2007, all graduates of the highly selectivegraduate diploma A Graduate Diploma is generally a postgraduate qualification. AustraliaSee also: Postgraduate diplomas offered in Australia are typical of those offered in England, Wales, and Ireland. of education for secondary teachers from the Universityof Western Australia accepted positions in non-government schools. Other major related challenges are to ensure greater equity in thedistribution of highly accomplished teachers across schools and schoolsystems. At present we know that out-of-field teaching is more likely tobe found in rural, remote and disadvantaged This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims.Please help Wikipedia by adding references. See the for details.This article has been tagged since September 2007. schools, but we do not knowhow equitable equitableadj. 1) just, based on fairness and not legal technicalities. 2) refers to positive remedies (orders to do something, not money damages) employed by the courts to solve disputes or give relief. (See: equity) EQUITABLE. the distribution of quality teachers is across schools.Without valid measures of teacher quality, we cannot conduct research onthe contribution that variation in teacher quality might make toAustralia's comparatively high levels of variation in studentlearning outcomes in schools for students drawn from high--tolow-socio-economic-status backgrounds as revealed in recentinternational studies of student achievement such as the Programme forInternational Student Assessment For other uses, see Pisa (disambiguation).The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a triennial world-wide test of 15-year-old schoolchildren's scholastic performance, the implementation of which is coordinated by the (PISA Pisa(pē`sä), city (1991 pop. 98,928), capital of Pisa prov., Tuscany, N central Italy, on the Arno River. It is now c.6 mi (9.7 km) from the Tyrrhenian Sea, which once reached the city. ). Effective teacher education is essential to teacher quality. Arecent ACER study conducted for Teaching Australia (Ingvarson et al.,2006) examined current procedures for the assessment and accreditationof teacher education courses. The findings indicated that theseprocedures are generally weak as quality assurance mechanisms. None isbased on outcome measures of the quality of graduates or theircompetencies. There are over 200 teacher education courses in Australia,but, apart from one ACER study (Ingvarson et al., 2005), we know littleabout the relative effectiveness of these courses. Clearly, there is aneed to develop much better measures of the outcomes of teachereducation courses if we are to understand the characteristics of coursesthat are more effective in producing competent teachers. ACER iscurrently coordinating an international study in 15 countries comparingthe effectiveness of programs for preparing teachers of mathematics.This study includes the development of survey instruments that includemeasures of mathematical and pedagogical knowledge, which may enhanceour capacity to measure the outcomes of teacher education courseoutcomes. (Further details can be found athttp://teds.educ.msu.edu/default.asp). Registration of new teachers is another important mechanism forensuring teacher quality. Ideally, registration provides an assurancethat new teachers are not only qualified but competent, but this is notgenerally the case in Australia. In most states and territories,registration follows automatically from completing an approveduniversity qualification, despite the fact that this qualification aloneis an uncertain guide to a teacher's capacity to promote learningin real school contexts (Parliament of Victoria, Education and TrainingCommittee, 2005). Most professions delay registration until a period ofinternship internship/in��tern��ship/ (in��tern-ship) the position or term of service of an intern in a hospital. internship,n the course work or practicum conducted in a professional dental clinic. in workplace settings has been completed satisfactorily(Ingvarson et al., 2006). The Victorian Institute of Teaching has introduced newstandards-based assessment A standards based test is one based on the outcome-based education or performance-based education philosophy. [1] Assessment is a key part of the standards reform movement. The first part is to set new, higher standards to be expected of every student. procedures for provisional Temporary; not permanent. Tentative, contingent, preliminary.A provisional civil service appointment is a temporary position that fills a vacancy until a test can be properly administered and statutory requirements can be fulfilled to make a permanent appointment. registration,which means that registration now depends on successful completion of aperiod of provisional registration supported by a mentor Mentor, in Greek mythologyMentor(mĕn`tər, –tôr'), in Greek mythology, friend of Odysseus and tutor of Telemachus. . By the end ofthis period, graduate teachers are expected to provide evidence thattheir practice has met standards of performance established by the VIT VIT VitroVIT Vitality (Final Fantasy)VIT VitreousVIT Victorian Institute of Teaching (Australia)VIT Vellore Institute of Technology (Tamil Nadu, India)before gaining full entry to the profession. These new procedures areperceived as valid assessments against the VIT standards (Ingvarson etal., 2007). Other states, such as New South Wales, are developingsimilar procedures. The success of these new procedures in promotingbetter teacher education and professional learning during induction induction, in electricity and magnetisminduction,in electricity and magnetism, common name for three distinct phenomena.Electromagnetic induction willdepend on the development of valid standards and measures of teacherperformance. The foregoing discussion indicates several reasons for theimportance of improving our capacity to measure teacher quality in waysthat are valid, reliable and fair. The focus of this paper is on recentdevelopments in standards-based approaches to measuring teacherperformance designed to deal with these purposes. In summary, thesepurposes include * accreditation of teacher education courses * registration of new teachers * certification of accomplished and highly accomplished teachers. These purposes constitute the three key quality assurancemechanisms in any profession. They provide the answers to the followingquestions: 'Who gets the right to train teachers?' 'Whogets to enter the profession?' and 'Who gains recognition forattaining high standards of practice?' If the rhetoric aboutimproving and valuing teacher quality is to become a reality, thesethree fundamental quality assurance functions need to be operatingeffectively--functions that are best carried out at the national orprofession-wide level. With some rare exceptions, there is little recent or currentevidence to suggest that these mechanisms are operating effectively inAustralia. This should be taken as a description of the currentsituation, not a criticism of any particular group. This paper is basedon the proposition that, to carry out these functions more effectively,we need to develop more rigorous methods of assessing teacher quality.Paradoxical paradoxicaldifferent from what is expected; at variance with the established laws.paradoxical motionsee paradoxical respiration (below). though it may seem, more rigorous methods of summativeassessment Summative assessment (or Summative evaluation) refers to the assessment of the learning and summarises the development of learners at a particular time. After a period of work, e.g. lead to better planning and formative assessment Formative assessment is a self-reflective process that intends to promote student attainment [1]. Cowie and Bell [2] define it as the bidirectional process between teacher and student to enhance, recognise and respond to the learning. in teachereducation and professional development (Ingvarson et al., 2006). If we are to develop methods for evaluating teacher quality forpurposes such as those outlined above, we need strong conceptualfoundations for what we mean by teacher quality. The remainder of thispaper focuses on methods for evaluating teacher quality for the purposesof developing a profession-wide system for identifying and recognisinghighly accomplished teachers. Conceptualising quality in teaching The guiding questions for this section of the paper are 'Howdo we develop valid indicators of teacher quality for purposes such asthose above?' and 'How do we decide what teachers should knowand be able to do?' A closely related question is, 'On whatbases should teachers be evaluated?' Another is 'For what isit fair to hold teachers accountable?' These are questions thatapply to all professions, as we have seen with respect to medicine inthe Medical Defense Associations. On what foundations should teachers be evaluated? If measures of teacher quality are to be used in making decisionsthat are critical to teachers' lives and careers, they should bebased on valid criteria or defensible de��fen��si��ble?adj.Capable of being defended, protected, or justified: defensible arguments.de��fen foundations. There is a longtradition of research on teacher evaluation issues in the USA. Millmanand Darling-Hammond (1990) provide one of the most comprehensive reviewsof this research in The new handbook For the handbook about Wikipedia, see .This article is about reference works. For the subnotebook computer, see . "Pocket reference" redirects here. of research on teacher evaluation.Based on the work of Michael Scriven Michael Scriven (born 1928[1]) is a British-born academic, with a first degree in mathematics and a doctorate in philosophy[2]. He has made significant contributions in the fields of philosophy, psychology, critical thinking, and, most notably, evaluation. (e.g. Scriven, 1994), Wheeler(1994) provides a helpful classification of foundations or sources thathave been used in the USA for developing criteria for evaluatingteachers, together with comments on their relative validity The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter.Please help [ improve the introduction] to meet Wikipedia's layout standards. You can discuss the issue on the talk page. . Theseinclude * government regulations and requirements * professional standards * outcomes of teaching * theories grounded in practice * what teachers are doing * what others would like teachers to be doing * what teachers should be doing. The Appendix to this paper provides an elaboration of each of thesesources. Each provides a way of answering the question, 'How willwe determine what teachers should know and be able to do?' Eachaims to provide a source for criteria to be used in determining thedomains of performance and attributes that should be included in asystem for evaluating teacher quality. Scriven (1994) and Wheeler (1994) weigh the arguments for andagainst, using each of these sources as a basis for evaluating teachers.They argue that, for employer purposes, such as performance managementand decisions about retaining employment, the appropriate basis forevaluation of teachers is the last item, namely, what teachers should bedoing, based on the duties and responsibilities of a teacher as shouldbe delineated de��lin��e��ate?tr.v. de��lin��e��at��ed, de��lin��e��at��ing, de��lin��e��ates1. To draw or trace the outline of; sketch out.2. To represent pictorially; depict.3. in an employment contract. For professional purposesbeyond a single employer, such as registration and advancedcertification, a more appropriate basis for assessing teacher quality iswhat the profession says teachers should know and be able to do--asspecified in a set of professional standards. Quality teaching It is important to note that the purposes for defining andmeasuring teacher quality above all relate to 'high-stakes'decisions. As in other professions, legal issues will arise whenteachers believe that measures of their professional performance do nothave a sound basis (Hopkins, 2007). Methods of defining teacher qualityneed to have a sound and defensible conceptual basis, especially if theyare used in quality assurance decisions such as registration,employment, promotion and professional certification Professional certification, trade certification, or professional designation, often called simply certification or qualification, is a designation earned by a person to assure that he/she is qualified to perform a job or task. . Many people have tackled these complex questions over the years.There is insufficient space here for a thorough review of the extensiveliterature on the various approaches to conceptualising teacher quality.Research on the characteristics of effective teachers and teaching hasbeen conducted over the past 100 years and is well documented in aseries of handbooks of research on teaching and on teacher education(e.g., Richardson, 2001). Researchers have conceptualised teacherquality in diverse ways over this time, including personalitycharacteristics, teacher behaviours (as in process-product research) andmore recently in terms of what effective teachers know and do, where theguiding research questions include 'What knowledge is essential forteaching? (e.g., Shulman, 1987) and 'What is the nature ofexpertise in teaching?' (e.g., Berliner, 1992). Recent researchprograms such as Shulman's Teacher Assessment Program (Shulman,1991) have paved pave?tr.v. paved, pav��ing, paves1. To cover with a pavement.2. To cover uniformly, as if with pavement.3. To be or compose the pavement of. the way for new approaches to defining quality teachingand developing teaching standards. These have drawn attention to thecomplexity of what effective teachers know about what they teach and howthey help students to learn. As a consequence of this research,standards are emerging as a sound basis for defining levels of expertisein teaching and assessing teacher performance. Fenstermacher and Richardson (2005) make a distinction betweenquality teaching and successful teaching that is useful to the presentdiscussion, especially if measures of teacher quality are to be used forhigh-stakes decisions affecting teachers' careers or salaries. Theyremind us that quality teaching is about more than whether something istaught. It is also about 'how it is taught' (p. 189).Successful teaching in the former sense may not be good teaching in thelatter sense. Teaching is undeniably a moral enterprise. Similarly, whatcounts as 'performance' varies. For some, the main indicatorsof performance should be measures of student outcomes, based onstandardised Adj. 1. standardised - brought into conformity with a standard; "standardized education"standardizedstandard - conforming to or constituting a standard of measurement or value; or of the usual or regularized or accepted kind; "windows of standard width"; tests of student achievement. This is what Fenstermacherand Richardson (2005) refer to as 'successful teaching':'By successful teaching we mean that the learner actually acquires,to some reasonable and acceptable level of proficiency pro��fi��cien��cy?n. pl. pro��fi��cien��ciesThe state or quality of being proficient; competence.Noun 1. proficiency - the quality of having great facility and competence , what the teacheris engaged in teaching' (p. 191). For others, the evidence of ateacher's performance should be based on observations of thequality of opportunities they provide for student learning in theirclassrooms in relation to teaching standards. This is what Fenstermacherand Richardson call 'good teaching': By good teaching we mean that the content taught accords with disciplinary standards of adequacy and completeness, and that the methods employed are age appropriate, morally defensible, and undertaken with the intention of enhancing the learner's competence with respect to the content studied. (p. 191) This distinction points to two different approaches toconceptualising teacher quality--and two different views on whatteachers should be held accountable for: one in terms of studentachievement on standardised tests, the other in terms of the quality ofopportunities for learning that teachers establish in their classrooms.The purpose of teaching standards, as we shall see below, is to capturewhat is meant by good teaching and to explicate what teachers need toknow and be able to do, to establish quality opportunities for studentlearning. Conceptualising teacher quality in terms of student achievement Although it seems plausible to use student learning outcomes as ameasure of 'good teaching' and a basis for measuring teacherquality, the direct relationship between good teaching and learningoutcomes is uncertain. The relationship between the two is far from asimple 1:1 causal causal/cau��sal/ (kaw��z'l) pertaining to, involving, or indicating a cause. causalrelating to or emanating from cause. relationship. Fenstermacher and Richardson (2005, p.190) point out that successful teaching, as defined above, depends notonly on good teaching but on three other conditions as well: * willingness and effort by the learner * a social surround supportive of teaching and learning * the opportunity to teach and to learn. Good teaching is only one of the ingredients necessary forsuccessful teaching: a teacher may be 'good' while being'unsuccessful' in certain contexts. While it may be reasonableto hold teachers accountable for 'good teaching' in the senseabove, there will be problems in evaluating teachers and holding themaccountable using measures of successful teaching, since the latterdepends also on conditions being in place for which others areaccountable. There have been significant developments in attempts to use studentachievement as a measure of teacher quality. Millman (1997) includereports of four of these schemes in the USA, each using different kindsof student assessment. Two of them used 'value-added' modelsfor isolating i��so��late?tr.v. i��so��lat��ed, i��so��lat��ing, i��so��lates1. To set apart or cut off from others.2. To place in quarantine.3. and estimating school and teacher effects: the TennesseeValue Added Value AddedThe enhancement a company gives its product or service before offering the product to customers.Notes:This can either increase the products price or value. Assessment System (TVAAS TVAAS Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System ) and the Dallas Value-AddedAccountability System. Proponents of these schemes claim that they areable to separate the effects of teachers and schools from the effects ofother important factors such as family background. These two schemes arethen used, along with a range of other sources of information, toexamine patterns of performance and to provide, for example, anindication of teachers who require professional development. While thesetwo schemes are not linked to salaries or bonuses, the federalgovernment in the USA has launched a major Teacher Incentive Programthat offers incentives for states to come up with proposals for schemesthat do. Pennsylvania, for example, has recently drafted a bill thatproposes to use student achievement results to evaluate and rewardadministrators and teachers. The consensus among those who are closely familiar with theseschemes is that they do not provide, and are unlikely to provide, avalid basis for high-stakes decision-making about the quality ofteaching, such as those involved in performance-related pay Performance-related pay is money paid to someone relating to how well he or she works at the workplace. Car salesmen, production line workers etc. may be paid in this way or through commission. (Braun,2005; Kupermintz, 2002; McCaffrey et al., 2003; Raudenbush, 2004). Someexperts in educational measurement regard schemes such as the TVAAS asflawed flaw?1?n.1. An imperfection, often concealed, that impairs soundness: a flaw in the crystal that caused it to shatter.See Synonyms at blemish.2. because they use national norm-referenced tests A norm-referenced test is a type of test, assessment, or evaluation in which the tested individual is compared to a sample of his or her peers (referred to as a "normative sample"). that are usuallyinsensitive in��sen��si��tive?adj.1. Not physically sensitive; numb.2. a. Lacking in sensitivity to the feelings or circumstances of others; unfeeling.b. to detecting the effects of teachers''instructional efforts' (Popham, 1997, p. 270). A danger withsuch schemes is that they may use student assessment data for a purposethat was not initially intended. That is, they may use students'scores on a nationally standardised test to assess the performance of ateacher when the test scores have not been validated val��i��date?tr.v. val��i��dat��ed, val��i��dat��ing, val��i��dates1. To declare or make legally valid.2. To mark with an indication of official sanction.3. for the latterpurpose. Such tests are usually designed to discriminate dis��crim��i��nate?v. dis��crim��i��nat��ed, dis��crim��i��nat��ing, dis��crim��i��natesv.intr.1. a. betweenstudents, not teachers. In a recent review of the literature on the useof value-added modelling (VAM VAM Vinyl Acetate MonomerVAM Vesicular-Arbuscular MycorrhizaeVAM Vitt Ariskt Motst?nd (Swedish: White Aryan Resistance)VAM Vitt Ariskt Motst?nd (Sweden)) in estimating teacher effects, McCaffreyet al. (2006) conclude that VAM-based rankings of teachers are highly unstable, and that only large differences in estimated impact are likely to be detectable given the effects of sampling error and other sources of uncertainty. Interpretations of differences among teachers based on VAM estimates should be made with extreme caution (p. 113). The reliability of value-added estimates depends on the quality ofthe student achievement measures that underpin them, and the margins oferror in most existing measures need to be understood. In addition,measures available so far are limited mainly to reading and numeracy numeracyMathematical literacy Neurology The ability to understand mathematical concepts, perform calculations and interpret and use statistical information. Cf Acalculia. inthe primary years. For most subject areas in the primary and secondarycurriculum there are no measures to which value-added modelling could beapplied. There are two further reasons that statewide measures of studentoutcomes are inappropriate as measures of individual teacher quality forhigh-stakes decision-making. First, they do not measure all thatteachers are trying to achieve (Bond et al., 2000, pp. 60, 63). Second,they do not provide useful information for teachers about what they needto know and be able to do to teach more effectively (Darling-Hammond,1992). Standards as a basis for measures of teacher quality Teacher quality, for purposes such as those outlined in theIntroduction to this article, is more appropriately conceived in termsof Fenstermacher and Richardson's concept of 'good'teaching: Quality teaching ... is about more than whether something is taught. It is also about how it is taught. Not only must the content be appropriate, proper, and aimed at some worthy purpose, the methods employed have to be morally defensible and grounded in shared conceptions of reasonableness. To sharpen the contrast with successful teaching, we will call teaching that accords with high standards for subject matter content and methods of practice 'good teaching. Good teaching is teaching that comports with morally defensible and rationally sound principles of instructional practice. Successful teaching is teaching that yields the intended learning. (Fenstermacher & Richardson, 2005, p. 189) It would be tempting, say these writers, to conclude that'quality teaching' is some kind of simple combination of'good' and 'successful' teaching. But that argumentis 'fraught with complexities': There is currently a considerable focus on quality teaching, much of it rooted in the presumption that the improvement of teaching is a key element in improving student learning. We believe that this policy focus rests on a naive conception of the relationship between teaching and learning. This conception treats the relationship as a straightforward causal connection, such that if it could be perfected, it could then be sustained under almost any conditions, including poverty, vast linguistic, racial or cultural differences, and massive differences in the opportunity factors of time, facilities, and resources. Our analysis suggests that this presumption of simple causality is more than naive; it is wrong. (Fenstermacher & Richardson, 2005, p. 205) The writers of this paper conclude that appraisal of qualityteaching is strongly interpretative in��ter��pre��ta��tive?adj.Variant of interpretive.in��terpre��ta and requires high levels ofdiscernment on the part of the evaluators: The vital insight is that when making a judgement of quality, one is always engaged in an interpretation--in a selection of one set of factors or indices over another, in attention to some dimensions of the phenomenon over other possible dimensions, in desiring and valuing some features of the task or the achievement more than other features. (Fenstermacher & Richardson, 2005, p. 206) The major implication of this discussion for the measurement ofteaching quality is that measures of quality should focus on the qualityof the opportunities for learning that teachers are providing for theirstudents. One of the main aims of developers of teaching standards is toarticulate articulate/ar��tic��u��late/ (ahr-tik��u-lat)1. to pronounce clearly and distinctly.2. to make speech sounds by manipulation of the vocal organs.3. to express in coherent verbal form.4. 'sound principles of instructional practice' andwhat teachers should know and be able to do, to provide quality of theopportunities for learning. Developing standards-based measures of teacher quality Defining teaching standards The term 'standard' can mean a military banner or flag,and to measure. Both senses apply to the development of standards forteaching. In the first sense, standards articulate professionalprinciples and values. Like the flag on ancient battlefields, they canprovide a rallying point Noun 1. rallying point - a point or principle on which scattered or opposing groups can come togetherpoint - a brief version of the essential meaning of something; "get to the point"; "he missed the point of the joke"; "life has lost its point" . A full set of teaching standards shouldprovide a vision of good teaching and quality learning to guide thedevelopment of standards in the second sense. Standards, in the sense of measures, are tools we use constantly inmaking judgements in many areas of life and work, whether measuringlength, evaluating writing, critiquing restaurants or measuringprofessional performance. Standards provide the necessary context ofshared meanings and values for fair, reliable and useful judgements tobe made. Measures are one of humankind's most powerful inventionsand have been the basis for significant improvement in most areas ofhuman endeavour. Writers of teaching standards need to articulate a vision ofquality learning that will guide their more detailed work of describingwhat teachers should know, believe and be able to do. Reaching aconsensus is a necessary part of standards development, but it is aconsensus that must be justified in terms of research and the wisdom ofexpert practitioners. This means that teachers who develop teachingstandards must reach agreement on the scope and the content of theirwork and the underlying principles. Developing teaching standards When standards are used in assessing teaching performance, forpurposes such as registration, accountability, promotion orcertification by a professional body, there are three essential steps intheir development. These are * defining what is to be assessed (often called content standards) * developing methods for gathering evidence about teaching forassessment * setting performance standards (evaluating teaching). As illustrated in Figure 1, these standards need to be embedded Inserted into. See embedded system. ina set of core values and a guiding educational vision.Figure 1 Performance-based teaching standards: main componentsCore professional principles/values/propositions, guidingeducational vision Content standards* What is good teaching?* What should teachers know and be able to do?* How do we define the domain of good teaching?* What is the scope of teacher's work?* What are we going to measure? Assessment methods* What evidence about teaching should be gathered? How?* How can we ensure that evidence for all the standards is gathered?* How do we ensure that evidence is authentic (valid)?* How much evidence is needed? Performance standards* How will we judge performance?* What level of performance meets the standard?* How good is good enough? Where do we set the standard?* How will we discriminate between good and poor performance?* How are we going to score the evidence reliably? The remainder of this paper follows the framework as set out inFigure 1, examining in turn content standards, assessment methods andthe setting of performance standards in measuring teacher quality. Trends in the development of teaching standards 1 Standards are developed by teachers themselves through theirprofessional associations. 2 Standards aim to capture substantive knowledge about teaching andlearning--what teachers really need to know and to be able to do topromote learning of important subject matter. 3 Standards are performance based. They describe what teachersshould know and be able to do rather than listing courses that teachersshould take in order to be awarded registration or certification. 4 Standards conceive of Verb 1. conceive of - form a mental image of something that is not present or that is not the case; "Can you conceive of him as the president?"envisage, ideate, imagine teachers' work as the application ofexpertise and values to non-routine tasks. Assessment strategies need tobe capable of capturing teachers' reasoned judgements and what theyactually do in authentic teaching situations. 5 Assessment of performance in the light of teaching standards isbecoming one of the primary tools for on-going professional learning anddevelopment. Sykes and Plastrik (1993) define a standard as 'a tool forrendering See render. (graphics, text) rendering - The conversion of a high-level object-based description into a graphical image for display.For example, ray-tracing takes a mathematical model of a three-dimensional object or scene and converts it into a bitmap image. appropriately precise the making of judgements and decisionsin a context of shared meanings and values'.This is a usefulreminder that a set of standards needs all three components shown inFigure 1. A full set of standards points not only to what will bemeasured but also to how evidence about capability and performance willbe gathered and how judgements will be made about whether the standardshave been met. There are only a few examples of teaching standards inAustralia currently that are complete in this sense and useful,therefore, for measuring teacher quality. Examples include the standardsdeveloped by the Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers, theAustralian Science Teachers Association and the Western AustralianEducation Department's Level 3 Classroom teacher standards. Amonginternational developments, the most detailed and sophisticatedstandards are those developed by the National Board for ProfessionalTeaching Standards (To examine the standards in details go tohttp://www.nbpts.org/the_standards). Characteristics of well-written standards Following is an extract from one standard from the set of standardsfor accomplished teachers developed by the): Accomplished teachers of science engage students in scientific inquiry ... Their teaching reflects both the excitement and challenge of scientific endeavour and its distinctive rigour. They both teach and model practices that allow their students to approach knowledge and experiences critically, recognise problems, ask questions and pose solutions. They actively involve students in a wide range of scientific investigations ... (Australian Science Teachers Association, 2002, p. 18). There are several noteworthy features of a standard such as this,an extract from one standard from the set of standards for accomplishedteachers developed by the Australian Science Teachers Association. Thefirst is that it points to a large, meaningful and significant'chunk' of a science teacher's work--it is an example ofthe challenging educational aims they are trying to achieve. It is not amicro-level competency COMPETENCY, evidence. The legal fitness or ability of a witness to be heard on the trial of a cause. This term is also applied to written or other evidence which may be legally given on such trial, as, depositions, letters, account-books, and the like. 2. , or a personality trait trait(trat)1. any genetically determined characteristic; also, the condition prevailing in the heterozygous state of a recessive disorder, as the sickle cell trait.2. a distinctive behavior pattern. . Science teachers readilyidentify this type of standard as referring to an authentic (i.e. valid)example of the kind of work they do (or aspire to aspire toverb aim for, desire, pursue, hope for, long for, crave, seek out, wish for, dream about, yearn for, hunger for, hanker after, be eager for, set your heart on, set your sights on, be ambitious for do).The second is thatthe standard is context free, in the sense that it describes a practicethat most agree accomplished science teachers should follow no matterwhere the school is. By definition, a professional standard applies toall contexts in which teachers work (which is not to say context doesnot affect practice). No matter where a school is, engaging students inscientific inquiry is likely to be regarded as a core responsibility ofscience teachers. The third feature is that the standard is non-prescriptive abouthow to engage students in 'doing science' and 'thinkingscientifically'; it does not standardise Verb 1. standardise - evaluate by comparing with a standardstandardizeappraise, assess, evaluate, valuate, value, measure - evaluate or estimate the nature, quality, ability, extent, or significance of; "I will have the family jewels appraised by a practice or force teachersinto some kind of straitjacket straitjacket/strait��jack��et/ (strat��jak?et) informal name for camisole. strait��jack��etor straight��jack��etn. . There are many ways to engage studentsin scientific inquiry. While the standard identifies an essentialelement of good science teaching, it does not prescribe pre��scribev.To give directions, either orally or in writing, for the preparation and administration of a remedy to be used in the treatment of a disease. how the standardis to be met. In this way, the standard also allows for diversity andinnovation. Teachers are invited to show how they meet thisstandard--how they engage students in scientific inquiry. The fourthfeature is that, as a standard, it points to something that ismeasurable or observable ob��serv��a��ble?adj.1. Possible to observe: observable phenomena; an observable change in demeanor.See Synonyms at noticeable.2. . It is possible to imagine the kinds ofevidence that science teachers will assemble over time to show that theymeet the standard, such as samples of students' work or videotapedsegments of class time. These features apply to standards in all teaching fields, whetherprimary or secondary. In summary, using science teaching still only asan example, good standards for teachers should: * be grounded in clear guiding conceptions of what it means forexample to do science * be valid; that is, represent what (science teachers) need to knowand do to promote quality learning opportunities for students to learn(science) * identify the unique features of what (science teachers) know anddo * delineate the main dimensions of development the professionexpects of a teacher (of science)--what (science) teachers should getbetter at over time, with adequate opportunities for professionaldevelopment * be assessable; that is, point to potentially observable featuresand actions. Recent research on the validity of teaching standards developed byteachers indicates that the profession is building a stronger capacityto develop content standards that meet these criteria. The standardsdeveloped by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards inthe USA, for example, provide examples of standards in 26 separatelevels and fields of teaching that meet these criteria. They alsoprovide elaborations of what the standards mean that reflect thecomplexity of what good teachers know and do. (The National Board forProfessional Teaching Standards' website lists the extensiveresearch conducted on the measurement characteristics of its standardscertification procedures). Methods for measuring teacher quality against the standards The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards in the USAprovides an example of a fully functioning system for providingcertification that teachers have attained at��tain?v. at��tained, at��tain��ing, at��tainsv.tr.1. To gain as an objective; achieve: attain a diploma by hard work.2. high standards of performance.Internationally, this is the only system for providing recognition toaccomplished teachers that has been subjected to extensive research onthe validity, reliability and generalisability of its methods forassessing teachers' professional knowledge and performance.Ingvarson and Hattie (2008) bring together a comprehensive collection ofpapers based on this research. The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) wasformed in 1987 to advance the quality of teaching and learning in theUSA by developing professional standards for accomplished teaching,creating a voluntary system to certify teachers who meet those standardsand integrating certified teachers A certified teacher is a teacher who has earned credentials from an authoritative source, such as the government, a higher education institution or a private source. These certifications allow teachers to teach in schools which require authorization in general, as well as allowing into educational reform efforts. Itis an independent, non-profit, non-partisan and non-governmentalnational organisation with a broad membership base that includespractising teachers, state governors, school administrators, teacherunions, school board leaders, college and university officials, businessexecutives, foundations and concerned citizens. Most states and a growing number of districts in the USA now offerextra rewards, including annual bonuses and higher salaries to encourageteachers to apply for NBPTS certification. There is a growing market forNBPTS certified teachers. Carefully trained peer teachers, who havealready demonstrated accomplishment in their field of teaching, carryout the assessment of teachers' performance under NBPTSsupervision. History teachers evaluate history teachers, early childhoodteachers evaluate other early childhood teachers, and so on. NBPTScertification processes ensure that teachers are evaluated by those withan in-depth knowledge of what is being evaluated. This encouragesteachers' confidence in the validity and fairness of the processes. The NBPTS approach to assessing teacher quality Below is an outline of a typical set of NBPTS teaching standards:in this case, standards for highly accomplished science teachers (theNBPTS website provides the full version). It is only one of the 26 setsdeveloped in various teaching fields. Noteworthy, as in this typicalexample, is that each set of standards seeks to define not only what isin common with other fields, but also what is unique about what teachersknow and do in that field of teaching. Domain 1: Preparing the way for productive student learning * Understanding students * Knowledge of science * Instructional Resources Domain 2: Establishing a favorable fa��vor��a��ble?adj.1. Advantageous; helpful: favorable winds.2. Encouraging; propitious: a favorable diagnosis.3. context for learning * Engagement * Learning environment * Equitable participation Domain 3: Advancing student learning * Science inquiry * Expanding fundamental understandings * Contexts of science Domain 4: Supporting teaching and learning * Assessment * Family and community outreach Outreach is an effort by an organization or group to connect its ideas or practices to the efforts of other organizations, groups, specific audiences or the general public. * Contributing to the profession * Reflective Refers to light hitting an opaque surface such as a printed page or mirror and bouncing back. See reflective media and reflective LCD. practice. As with each set of NBPTS standards, these standards were developedby a national committee of expert teachers and researchers in therelevant field of teaching. Once established, the task of developing themethods of assessment for each set of NBPTS standards is handed toindependent Assessment Development Teams consisting of other expert(science) teachers and specialists in educational measurement. Pearlman(2008) provides a comprehensive account of how the NBPTS developed itsapproach to assessing teacher knowledge and performance. The NBPTS approach to measuring teacher quality relies on teachersproviding two types of evidence. The first is a portfolio containingfour 'entries'. One entry is based on documented contributionsto the profession and school community outside the classroom while threeare classroom exercises: one based on samples of student work, two basedon videotapes of classroom practices. For example: Entry 1: Designing Science Instruction Teachers are asked to choose three activities from an instructionalsequence and work samples from two students that demonstrate how theylink instructional activities together to promote students'understanding of one important scientific concept along with thedevelopment of one or more related process skills. Entry 2: Probing Student Understanding Teachers are asked to submit a 20-minute Videotape videotapeMagnetic tape used to record visual images and sound, or the recording itself. There are two types of videotape recorders, the transverse (or quad) and the helical. of a lesson inwhich they introduce an important idea in science, and demonstrate howthey use classroom discourse and questioning to elicit e��lic��it?tr.v. e��lic��it��ed, e��lic��it��ing, e��lic��its1. a. To bring or draw out (something latent); educe.b. To arrive at (a truth, for example) by logic.2. students'initial conceptions of an important idea in science, and how they usetheir understanding to influence their instruction. OptionalInstructional Artefacts may also be submitted. Entry 3: Inquiry Through Investigation Teachers are asked to submit a 20-minute Videotape of a lesson inwhich they conduct an investigation of an important scientific conceptand demonstrate how they support students in a scientific inquirydiscussion as they interpret data that have been collected during thecourse of the investigation. Any Instructional Artefacts used by thestudents may also be submitted. For the second 'entry' method of assessment, teachersattend an 'Assessment Centre' for three hours where theyrespond to six exercises on-line designed to gather evidence about theirsubject matter knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge. This mode ofassessment gathers evidence that can not be covered well through theportfolio entries, as is shown by the following example: one of the sixassessment centre exercises for teachers applying for NBPTScertification that assesses a teacher's knowledge about helpingstudents to learn science. Assessment Centre Exercise 4-Misconceptions (30 minutes) * Focus: This exercise focuses on candidates' ability torecognise student misconceptions Misconceptions is an American sitcom television series for The WB Network for the 2005-2006 season that never aired. It features Jane Leeves, formerly of Frasier, and French Stewart, formerly of 3rd Rock From the Sun. and to appropriately address themthrough subsequent instruction. * Prompts: Candidates are asked to identify the misconception mis��con��cep��tion?n.A mistaken thought, idea, or notion; a misunderstanding: had many misconceptions about the new tax program. (s) ina piece of student work, to develop the next lesson to address themisconception, and to develop an assessment to judge whether thestudent's understanding has changed following instruction. Those who know the research on science education will understandthat exercises such as this are based on recent research on effectiveteaching of science. The portfolio entry and the assessment centre exercise demonstratea number of important features for gathering evidence about teacherquality: * the tasks are authentic and, therefore, complex * the tasks are open ended, allowing teachers to show their ownpractice * the tasks provide ample opportunity and encouragement foranalysis and reflection * subject-matter knowledge underlies all performances * the tasks encourage teachers to exemplify ex��em��pli��fy?tr.v. ex��em��pli��fied, ex��em��pli��fy��ing, ex��em��pli��fies1. a. To illustrate by example: exemplify an argument.b. good practice * each task assesses a cluster of standards * each standard is assessed by more than one task. In endeavouring to provide a valid assessment of accomplishedpractice, the NBPTS has aimed to develop methods of assessment that * allow for the variety of forms sound practice takes * sample the range of ways teachers know their content * provide appropriate contexts for assessments of teachingknowledge and skill. The NBPTS assessment processes engage candidates in the activitiesof teaching--activities that require the display and use of teachingknowledge and skill and that provide teachers with the opportunity toexplain and justify their actions. Setting performance standards As described in the previous section, candidates for NBPTScertification complete 10 assessment tasks: four portfolio entries andsix assessment centre exercises. This number helps to provide aguarantee that NBPTS certification is a reliable assessment of teacherquality. The reliability of NBPTS certification is also enhanced by thefact that each assessment task provides evidence relevant to severalstandards, and because evidence related to each standard is gathered bymore than one task. Assessors undertake a week's training and are only invited tocontinue with 'live' scoring in subsequent weeks if they reacha high level of consistency in scoring benchmark entries. Two scorers,using standards-based rubrics, independently assess each exercise untilthey consistently agree. This means that between 10 and 20 assessors maybe involved in assessing a teacher's total application. A weightedtotal score is calculated across all 10 exercises. Assessors scoreentries for only one exercise; they do not examine all of acandidate's work. Pearlman (2008) provides a detailed account ofhow the NBPTS developed its system for scoring assessment tasks. Gitomer(2008) reports on studies of the reliability of the NBPTS scoringprocess and Moss (2008) provides a comprehensive review of validityresearch underpinning un��der��pin��ning?n.1. Material or masonry used to support a structure, such as a wall.2. A support or foundation. Often used in the plural.3. Informal The human legs. Often used in the plural. the National Board's certification process. A wide-ranging and thorough research program ensures the technicalquality and integrity of the measurement processes. Setting performancestandards involves establishing processes for distinguishing betweenlevels of performance. The NBPTS is the only example of a certificationsystem for accomplished teachers to have made a serious attempt toensure the psychometric psy��cho��met��rics?n. (used with a sing. verb)The branch of psychology that deals with the design, administration, and interpretation of quantitative tests for the measurement of psychological variables such as intelligence, aptitude, and quality of its standards setting processes. TheNBPTS initially used the judgemental policy capturing procedure (Jaeger jaeger(yā`gər), common name for several members of the family Stercorariidae, member of a family of hawklike sea birds closely related to the gull and the tern. The skua is also a member of this family. ,1982, 1995). More recently, it has used the less complex 'directjudgement' method (Jaeger, 2008). Both methods involved weightingand benchmarking exercises based on the judgement of panels of expertteachers. The NBPTS takes care to ensure the validity of its standards, theprocesses for developing the standards, and the validity of theassessment tasks and scoring rubrics, especially the congruence con��gru��ence?n.1. a. Agreement, harmony, conformity, or correspondence.b. An instance of this: "What an extraordinary congruence of genius and era" betweenthe assessment tasks and the standards that are being assessed. AllNBPTS assessments have been subject to validation See validate. validation - The stage in the software life-cycle at the end of the development process where software is evaluated to ensure that it complies with the requirements. studies in whichpanels of expert teachers in the relevant certification areas are askedto respond to a series of questions about the relevance,representativeness, necessity and importance of the standards andassessment processes. The panels found that the exercises and scoringrubrics were appropriate for the content being assessed (Crocker, 1997). Other validation exercises involved panellists of experiencedteachers working in pairs, independently of the assessment panelsranking a sample of portfolio exercises and assessment centre exercises.When compared with the scores awarded by the original assessors, thepanellists' assessments, with rare exceptions, demonstrated theaccuracy and the consistency of the scoring system Noun 1. scoring system - a system of classifying according to quality or merit or amountrating systemclassification system - a system for classifying things (Jaeger, 1998). Inthe same psychometric validation study, Jaeger found that, among the 258candidates in the study, there was a 13 per cent chance ofmisclassification, which is relatively low in assessments forprofessional certification. Validation studies of the NBPTS system for assessing teacherquality for professional certification The NBPTS has long agonised Adj. 1. agonised - expressing pain or agony; "agonized screams"agonizedpainful - causing physical or psychological pain; "worked with painful slowness" over the question of whether thestudents of NBPTS certified teachers perform better on external measuresof achievement than applicants who do not gain certification. It hasonly been relatively recently that the NBPTS has been able to claim thatits certification is a valid indicator of more effective teachers. Thefollowing examples come from some of the most recent research that hasbeen carried out in this contentious field. Two of the best known studies are those conducted by Hattie andClinton (2008) and Smith, Baker, Hattie and Bond (2008). Using differentmethods of gathering evidence from those used by the NBPTS, thesestudies compared the classroom performance of teachers who had gainedBoard certification board certificationn.The process by which a person is tested and approved to practice in a specialty field, especially medicine, after successfully completing the requirements of a board of specialists in that field. with that of teachers who had not on thirteendimensions, including the quality of student learning outcomes.The studyfound that NBPTS certified teachers significantly outperformed teacherswho had not gained certification on 11 out of 13 dimensions ofperformance, and outperformed them on all dimensions. More recently, Goldhaber and Anthony (2004) used outcomes data fromstandardised tests for students in the third, fourth and fifth grades inNorth Carolina North Carolina,state in the SE United States. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean (E), South Carolina and Georgia (S), Tennessee (W), and Virginia (N).Facts and FiguresArea, 52,586 sq mi (136,198 sq km). Pop. , the state with the largest number of NBPTS certifiedteachers in the USA. They examined data for the years 1996-97 to 1998-99using multivariate analysis multivariate analysis,n a statistical approach used to evaluate multiple variables.multivariate analysis,n a set of techniques used when variation in several variables has to be studied simultaneously. to compare the effects of NBPTS certifiedteachers on student achievement in mathe-matics and reading with thoseof non--NBPTS certified teachers. The students taught by the NBPTScertified teachers performed better and showed more growth inperformance than those taught by the non--NBPTS certified teachers. Theresearchers concluded that the NBPTS certification process is aneffective means of identifying teachers of high quality. Vandervoort and his colleagues (Vandervoort et al., 2004) comparedthe achievement data of the students of 35 NBPTS certified teachers withthose of non-certified teachers in Arizona. In three-quarters of thecomparisons, the elementary school elementary school:see school. students of the NBPTS certifiedteachers performed better in reading, language arts language artspl.n.The subjects, including reading, spelling, and composition, aimed at developing reading and writing skills, usually taught in elementary and secondary school. and mathematics thanstudents of non-NBPTS certified teachers. The authors of this studyconcluded that 'The preponderance of the evidence preponderance of the evidencen. the greater weight of the evidence required in a civil (non-criminal) lawsuit for the trier of fact (jury or judge without a jury) to decide in favor of one side or the other. suggests thatstudents of NBPCTs [NBPTS certified teachers] achieve more'(Vandervoort et al., 2004, p. 36). Evidence that NBPTS certified teachers make a major contribution tosuccessful students' learning continues to mount. The most recentstudy, conducted by Cavalluzo (2004), used data from a large urbanschool district--Miami--Dade Public Schools--to assess the contributionmade by teachers' professional characteristics to studentachievement in mathematics in the ninth and tenth grades Tenth grade is a year of education in many nations. United StatesThe tenth grade is the tenth school year after kindergarten and is called Grade 10 in some regions. Students are usually 15–16 years old. . One of thestrengths of the data set used was the detail regarding each student. Inaddition to standard demographic indicators, Cavalluzo and colleagueswere able to control for a number of indicators of student motivationand performance that might influence student achievement. The studyfound that, when compared with students whose teachers had never beeninvolved with NBPTS certification, the achievements of students of NBPTScertified teachers were higher: After taking into account differences in the characteristics of their students, such comparisons show that students who had a typical NBC [NBPTS certified] teacher, made the greatest gains, exceeding gains of those with similar teachers who had failed NBC or had never been involved in the process. Students with new teachers who lacked a regular state certification, and those who had teachers whose primary job assignment was not mathematics instruction made the smallest gains. (Cavalluzo, 2004, p. 3) From this work, it was concluded that In this study, [NBPTS certification] proved to be an effective signal of teacher quality. Indeed, seven of nine indicators of teacher quality that were included in the analyses resulted in appropriately signed and statistically significant evidence of their influence on student outcomes. Among these indicators, having an in-subject teacher, NBC [NBPTS certification] and regular state certification in high school mathematics had the greatest effects. (Cavalluzo, 2004, p. 3) (A full list of independent research projects about the validity ofthe NBPTS standards and certification procedures is available athttp://www.nbpts.org/resources/ research) NBPTS certified teachers are in high demand and are often mentorsand leaders in their schools.This is largely because members of theeducation and wider communities are confident that the NBPTS'sstringent efforts to ensure the rigour rig��our?n. Chiefly BritishVariant of rigor.rigouror US rigorNoun1. , fairness, validity andreliability of its assessments can be depended upon to provide credibleguarantees of teacher quality. NBPTS certified teachers are thusrewarded in terms of enhanced status and expanded employmentopportunities as well as financial remuneration. Completing an NBPTS portfolio takes at least 12 months. Theportfolio tasks engage applicants in challenging, site-based learningthat centres on gathering, analysing and reflecting on evidence of theirstudents' learning and their impact on that learning. Tasks weredesigned to be vehicles for professional learning. There is considerableevidence that teachers who have been through the NBPTS system regard theexperience as one of the most powerful professional experiences theyhave ever had (Tracz & Associates, 1995). Lustick and Sykes (2006)found that teachers who pursued National Board Certification showedsignificant improvements in their teaching practices, regardless ofwhether they achieved certification. Smith et al. (2005) found thatstudents of NBCTs exhibited deeper learning outcomes more frequentlythan students of non-NBCTs. A study commissioned by the NBPTS in 2001 (NBPTS, 2001) sampled theviews of 10 000 NBPTS certified teachers.This study found that teachersbelieved the certification process had * made them better teachers (92 per cent) * was an effective professional development experience (96 percent) * enabled them to create better curricula (89 per cent) * improved their ability to evaluate student learning (89 per cent) * enhanced their interaction with students (82 per cent), parents(82 per cent) and colleagues (80 per cent). The following comments from participants were typical responses: The National Board Certification process was by far the best professional development I have been involved in. I did not realise how much I still needed to learn about impacting student learning. I learned so much through hours of analysing and reflecting. I gained valuable insight of myself as a teacher. The process helped me to assess my teaching abilities as no administrator could have. Most importantly, my students benefit from my self-improvement. Working with other teachers in my school who were also working on certification was rewarding. It was the hardest thing I have ever done and it is something I am so glad that I tried. I am immensely proud of the work I turned in--even if I did not make the needed grade. It has made me a better teacher and colleague. By the end of 2007 nearly 64 000 teachers had successfully appliedfor National Board certification. The number of NBCTs has nearly tripledover the past five years. Just under 50% are successful the first time,but many who miss out apply again. Nearly 42% of all NBCTs are teachingin Title I schools (disadvantaged) as defined by the National Centre forEducation Statistics (NCES NCES National Center for Education StatisticsNCES Net-Centric Enterprise Services (US DoD)NCES Network Centric Enterprise ServicesNCES Net Condition Event Systems ). The application fee for NBPTS certificationis about US$2500. This may seem expensive but it is much less than thecosts of a Master's degree master's degreen.An academic degree conferred by a college or university upon those who complete at least one year of prescribed study beyond the bachelor's degree.Noun 1. . A recent independent study of relativecosts of different approaches to professional development by Cohen cohenor kohen(Hebrew: “priest”) Jewish priest descended from Zadok (a descendant of Aaron), priest at the First Temple of Jerusalem. The biblical priesthood was hereditary and male. andRice (2005) found that the candidacy process and candidate support programs ... incorporate elements of high-quality professional development identified in the research literature and are no more costly than other forms of professional development ... Our findings on design and cost suggest policy makers should consider the NBC [NBPTS certification] model as an alternative way to target professional development and salary rewards. Concluding comments A recent publication of the Education Trust in the USA by Haycock(2004) was titled The real value of teachers: If good teachers matter,why don't we act like it. The evidence described and outlined inthis paper (and growing evidence from Australian professionalassociations such as Australian Science Teachers Association and theAustralian Association of Mathematics Teachers) indicates it is notbecause of a lack of capacity to measure teacher quality. This paperindicates that the profession can define good teaching in all thespecialist fields of teaching, including early childhood and primaryteaching, as well as secondary teaching. It can gather valid evidence ofgood teaching and it can assess that evidence validly and reliably. The capacity to develop standards and credible methods forassessing teacher performance is growing but more investment is neededto translate this capacity into viable systems for registration andadvanced certification. Australia needs a major research program focusedon developing better methods for assessing teacher quality. This paperbegan by listing a number of reasons that we need better methods forassessing teacher quality. The need is clear. Policies aimed atimproving salaries, lifting the attractiveness of teaching as a career,the quality of teacher education and the effectiveness of professionallearning will amount to little without guarantees that they are linkedto valid and reliable measures of better-quality teaching. Withoutbetter methods for evaluating teaching, it will be difficult to ask thepublic to place greater value on it. Above all, given the social and economic importance of teacherquality and quality teaching at both national and individual levels, ourteachers and their students require no less (see Hughes, 2007; Masters,2004). Further, since teachers are the most valuable resource availableto schools and higher education institutions, there is a crucial needfor a substantive and methodological refocus of the prevailing economicteacher-quality/student-performance/merit-pay research and policy agendato one that focuses on the need for capacity building in teacherprofessionalism in terms of what teachers know and can do via thespecification and evaluation of quality teaching standards. Appendix Foundations of measures for evaluating teachers On what foundations should teachers be evaluated? If measures ofteacher quality are to be used in making decisions that are critical toteachers' lives and careers, it is clear they must be based onvalid criteria or defensible foundations. Wheeler (1994, pp. 3-4)provides a helpful classification of foundations or sources that havebeen used in the US for developing criteria for evaluating teachers,together with comments on their relative validity. Each provides a wayof answering the question, 'How will we determine what teachersshould know and be able to do?' Each provides a source for criteriato be used in determining the domains of performance and attributes tobe covered by the standards. Government regulations and requirements This category covers stateand federal laws, codes, and program guidelines. Examples are complyingwith safety codes for the handling and storage of chemicals;implementing categorical That which is unqualified or unconditional.A categorical imperative is a rule, command, or moral obligation that is absolutely and universally binding.Categorical is also used to describe programs limited to or designed for certain classes of people. program requirements such as involving ofparents of disadvantaged students in their educational program;following the state curriculum frameworks; using district adoptedtextbooks; and administering tests in accordance Accordance is Bible Study Software for Macintosh developed by OakTree Software, Inc.[]As well as a standalone program, it is the base software packaged by Zondervan in their Bible Study suites for Macintosh. with specifiedprocedures. Professional standards Specific examples of this category are (1)the professional standards for teaching mathematics developed by theNational Council of Teachers of Mathematics The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) was founded in 1920. It has grown to be the world's largest organization concerned with mathematics education, having close to 100,000 members across the USA and Canada, and internationally. ; (2) the standards forteacher competence in the educational assessment of students developedby the American Federation of Teachers American Federation of Teachers(AFT), an affiliate of the AFL-CIO. It was formed (1916) out of the belief that the organizing of teachers should follow the model of a labor union, rather than that of a professional association. , the National Council onMeasurement in Education, and the National Education Association; and(3) the standards of the National Board for Professional TeachingStandards. Such professional standards can be helpful in developing alocal teacher evaluation system but they may be narrowly focused, mayreflect the interests of the association, and may or may not be relevantto the local context. Outcomes of teaching Examples of outcomes are student assessmentresults, number and types of disciplinary referrals, implementation ofskills learned in a training program, and amount of resources used. Suchevaluation systems assume that promoting the attainment of thoseoutcomes covered by the evaluation system is the primary function of theteacher. These systems can drive teaching behaviour rather than promotediverse teaching practices and curricula content for different teachersand students. They can also be constraining con��strain?tr.v. con��strained, con��strain��ing, con��strains1. To compel by physical, moral, or circumstantial force; oblige: felt constrained to object.See Synonyms at force.2. for teachers confronted withchallenging situations and students with extensive behaviour problems,and it can be impossible to obtain valid and reliable assessment datafor some students (e.g., disabled, non-English speaking or highlymobile). Theories grounded in practice Theories of teaching, of learning andcognition cognitionAct or process of knowing. Cognition includes every mental process that may be described as an experience of knowing (including perceiving, recognizing, conceiving, and reasoning), as distinguished from an experience of feeling or of willing. , of the cognitive psychology cognitive psychology,school of psychology that examines internal mental processes such as problem solving, memory, and language. It had its foundations in the Gestalt psychology of Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Köhler, and Kurt Koffka, and in the work of Jean of teaching and of the cognitivedevelopment of teachers are examples of foundations in this category.However, theories are attempts to provide explanations of phenomena andare not, by themselves, adequate as foundations for systems to evaluateteachers. What teachers are doing Potential foundations in this category lookat what teachers are doing and use the results of such efforts to builda teacher evaluation system. One type of study looks at effective and,in some cases, ineffective teachers, and identifies the practices andbehaviours associated with these teachers (also called effectiveteaching research, or process-product studies).Another type of studylooks at what teachers are doing (job analysis). A third is based on theconsensus of practitioners concerning what they actually do as part oftheir teaching job. A fourth is based on what teachers at a particularschool have been doing in the past and are expected to continue doing,that is, the norms of the school. All of these assume that what someteachers are doing is a good approach for others in the profession ofteaching, a questionable assumption that can lead to an invalid Null; void; without force or effect; lacking in authority.For example, a will that has not been properly witnessed is invalid and unenforceable. INVALID. In a physical sense, it is that which is wanting force; in a figurative sense, it signifies that which has no effect. system(Scriven, 1994). What others would like teachers to be doing Examples of theseinclude the use of certain teaching styles (e.g., cooperative learning cooperative learningEducation theory A student-centered teaching strategy in which heterogeneous groups of students work to achieve a common academic goal–eg, completing a case study or a evaluating a QC problem. See Problem-based learning, Socratic method. groups, whole language instruction), preferences of peers andsupervisors, and desires of clients and stakeholders StakeholdersAll parties that have an interest, financial or otherwise, in a firm-stockholders, creditors, bondholders, employees, customers, management, the community, and the government. (e.g. students,parents, future employers of students, community members). A foundationbased on the styles, preferences and desires of others is clearlyinvalid, whether the approaches work well for an individual teacher ornot. What teachers should be doing The duties and responsibilities of ateacher, as designated by the local school board, the superintendent andprincipal, and the state education agency form the seventh type offoundation. Criteria and performance indicators derived from afoundation of teacher duties and responsibilities often overlap with thefirst type of foundation (governmental regulations and requirements).Teachers must be fully informed as to what their duties andresponsibilities are. This can be done through well-written andcomprehensive job descriptions or an employee handbook An employee handbook (or employee manual) details guidelines, expectations and procedures of a business or company to its employees.Employee handbooks are given to employees on one of the first days of his/her job, in order to acquaint them with their new company and . In some cases,teachers in some subject areas or specific individuals will haveadditional duties and responsibilities not common to all teachers; theymust be made fully aware of these if they are to be evaluated on thebasis of how well they perform these duties and responsibilities. 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Background paper toinvited address presented at the 2004 Public Sector Performance &Reporting Conference (under the auspices aus��pi��ces?1?n.Plural of auspex.auspicesNoun, plunder the auspices of with the support and approval of [Latin auspicium augury from birds]Noun of the International Institutefor Research--IIR), Sydney, 19-22 April 2004.http://www.acer.edu.au/learning_processes Rowe, K. J. (Chair) (2005a). Teaching reading literature review: Areview of the evidence-based research literature on approaches to theteaching of literacy, particularly those that are effective in assistingstudents with reading difficulties. A report of the Committee for theNational Inquiry into the Teaching of Literacy. Canberra: CommonwealthDepartment of Education, Science and Training. Retrieved 15 January 2008from http://www.dest.gov.au/nitl/report.htm Rowe, K. J. (Chair) (2005b). Teaching reading: Report andrecommendations. 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(2006). Positive uses of behaviourism behaviourismHighly influential academic school of psychology that dominated psychological theory in the U.S. between World War I and World War II. Classical behaviourism concerned itself exclusively with the objective evidence of behaviour (measured responses to stimuli) . In D. M.McInerney and V. McInerney, Educational psychology: Constructinglearning, 176-179. Frenchs Forrest: Pearson Education Pearson Education is an international publisher of textbooks and other educational material, such as multimedia learning tools. Pearson Education is part of Pearson PLC. It is headquartered in Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Australia. Lawrence Ingvarson Ken Rowe Kenneth Darrell (Ken) Rowe (born December 31, 1933 in Ferndale, Michigan) is a former middle-relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1963) and Baltimore Orioles (1964-65). He batted and threw right handed. Australian Council for Educational Research Dr Lawrence Ingvarson is a Principal Research Fellow at theAustralian Council for Educational Research. Email ingvarson@acer.edu.au Dr Ken Rowe is the Research Director, Learning Processes researchprogram, at the Australian Council for Educational Research.