Teachers' Reflections on Collaboration in the Context of High-Stakes Evaluations

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session 2
  In Roundtable Session: Shifting Teacher Beliefs: Evaluation, Policy, and School Contexts

Abstract

Collaboration is essential to professional growth among teachers (Drago-Severson, 2012; Hargreaves & Fullan, 2012; Hawley & Valli, 1999), but what happens to collaboration when these teachers are inherently ranked against each other through the evaluation system? This paper examines teachers’ perspectives on collaboration in the context of high-stakes evaluation. Findings from a mixed method study reveal that, at the very least, the current evaluation system does not encourage teachers to work together to improve their practice. At its most consequential, it appears to be creating adversarial relationships among some teachers. These findings have important implications for school administrators and policymakers and can inform the ways in which new evaluation systems are implemented and executed and ratings are defined and determined.

Author

• Amy R. Guenther, Michigan State University