Teaching to the Test: Impacts of Evaluating Teachers Through Student Growth Measures

• In Event: 35.081 - Roundtable Session 13
  In Roundtable Session: 35.081-8 - The "New" Work of Teachers: Current Complexities of Supporting and Evaluating Teacher Growth and Development

Abstract

As funding through the Race-to-the-Top program requires the use of student growth measures for teacher evaluation ratings, states are implementing evaluation systems based on students’ test scores. New teacher evaluation systems affect profoundly the way instruction is delivered. This paper reports on specific changes in instructional practices, as reported by teachers who participated in a pilot teacher evaluation in 2012-2013 in a northeastern state. Teachers’ responses were collected through an online survey (response rate of 39%) in June, 2013. Findings indicate several factors as significant contributors to instructional shifts toward increased test preparation: use of SGP scores for evaluation purposes, being a teacher in a low-performing district and belief that the main purpose of evaluations is to provide formative feedback.

Authors

• Dessi G. Kirova, Rutgers University - New Brunswick/Piscataway

• Anton Shcherbakov, Rutgers University - New Brunswick/Piscataway

• Cynthia L. Blitz, Rutgers University

• William A. Firestone, Rutgers University