Teacher Effectiveness

We all recognize that it is vital for teachers to be effective. But what is "teacher effectiveness," and how do we measure it?

Throughout the history of teaching, there have been various trends in measuring teacher effectiveness. In the modern age, we have better tools for assessing this elusive quality of edcational professionals. Depending on the region, the district, the population, or the particular school and its leadership, what constitutes "effective" teaching may vary. Likewise, the measures used to assess this quality may vary. The accuracy of the assessments may also come into question.

Because the idea of effectivemess is rather broad (even vague) it is often confusing and contentious to assess it. An educatioal consultant can help assess a school's methods for determining effectiveness and help pinpoint the core factores that need to be considered. Further, the educatioal consultant can help develop better methods. The goal is to help understand how effective teachers are, for the purpose of helping teachers better meet student needs.

To develop a plan for assessing teachers, an educartional consultant can examine the most recent studied on the subject and take the key findings from those studies to determine what is most important to assess. The educatonal consultant can also take time to understand the student population (in this way, teacher effectiveness follows from differentiated instruction), and to help assess teacher effectiveness as it is relevant to that specific population.

Finally, an educational consultant can help make the procss of analyzing teacher effectiveness one that is beneficial to teachers, and rises above the concerns about what these assessments will mean and how they will be used.