Modern Approaches to Teacher Performance Assessment. An Overview of Foreign Publications

Abstract

The need to develop a national teacher growth system requires that the existing approaches to assessing the quality of teaching be analyzed. This article provides an overview of foreign publications devoted to the problem of teacher performance assessment. Two major approaches are described: assessing teacher performance through student achievement and formative assessment based on teacher observation and follow-up feedback. Foreign researchers believe that there is no reason to expect that student achievement will be in complete alignment with the size and quality of teacher effort, as too many factors beyond the teacher’s control are in play. Some researchers suggest ways to increase the validity of using student attainment data in assessing teacher performance. Formative assessment of students is being gradually introduced into instruction processes, but formative assessment of teacher performance is only beginning to emerge in school practices. This article explores the methods and techniques of formative teacher assessment and presents the first findings on their opportunities and limitations. Most authors of the publications discussed here agree that the system of teacher performance assessment should be organized to foster the professional and personal development of teachers.