Among the considerations not adequately addressed in evaluation approaches are the function of schools, the impact of multiple teachers, the aptitude and motivation of students, and the role of families in producing measurable student learning gains.  Models fail to address the quality of instruction and the impact on student learning.  Scant information is available explaining why student test scores differ from observation-based teacher effectiveness measures. 

The purpose of this study is to ascertain the predictive validity of the Stronge Teacher Effectives Evaluation System (TEPES) along with its influence on student academic growth and
its impact on curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices.

Depending upon the teacher’s years of employment and tenure status, administrators perform at least one formal long classroom observation with pre- and post- meetings and two informal short walk-through observations.  Non-tenured teachers undergo a mid-year evaluation to provide feedback on current progress prior to final classroom observations.  Every teacher maintains professional development and supporting documentation logs aligned to the performance standards.  Additional data is collected from an end-of-course student survey, the summative results of which are self-reported by the teacher.  Student academic growth is calculated from comparative analyses of simple or tiered data from pre- and post- teacher-made skills and course content assessments.

Focus Groups

Individual & Small-group Interviews

Teacher Observations

Archival Data:

Systems 3000 Employee Database (Teacher identifiers: tenure status, years of employment, and department affiliation)

GENESIS Student Management Systems (Lesson plans, Final student course grades, and Standards coverage)

OASYS Teacher Evaluation Database (Recorded Observations, SGO Results, Self-Evaluations. Final Summative Evaluations, and Professional Development Log)