Surveying Teachers on New Teacher-Evaluation Systems

In this article in American Educator, Ross Wiener (Aspen Institute) and Kasia Lundy (Parthenon Group) make the case for surveying teachers on the way they are being evaluated. “Neglecting to include the views of educators in the continuous refinement of evaluations,” say Wiener and Lundy, “risks imposing a compliance regime that fails to help anyone become a better teacher.” They go on to list five potential benefits that surveys can produce:

• They are a quick and cost-effective way to get important information from teachers on principals’ work and the organizational health of schools.
• Surveys can increase teachers’ engagement in the evaluation process and may make them more receptive to feedback.
• Asking about key points – for example, Do principals identify strengths and provide helpful support? – increases the chances that those things will happen.
• Surveys can give district leaders information on glitches in the process and principals who aren’t evaluating skillfully.
• “When teacher survey results are shared transparently and used to adjust practice,” say Wiener and Lundy, “it sends a clear signal that teachers’ input is needed and valued” – which helps build staff morale. 

At their best, surveys are not about compliance or public reporting but actually promote organizational learning, reciprocal accountability, and continuous improvement. Here are some essential steps:

• Engage key stakeholders. “Whatever the engagement mechanism,” say Wiener and Lundy, “It is important to make sure teachers have authentic opportunities to shape the work and aren’t merely asked to watch a presentation about what’s already planned.” If teacher retention is an issue in the district, it’s smart to involve effective teachers who might be thinking of leaving. 

• Ensure anonymity. In the current climate, teachers need to be confident that their honest feedback cannot be traced to individuals. 

• Ask the right questions. “Surveys signal what the system values,” say the authors, “so system leaders should make sure the questions produce information that is important and that the system intends to act on.” These might include: (a) fidelity of implementation; (b) impact of evaluation on teachers; (c) whether teachers believe they are getting support and development; and (d) teachers’ overall impression of the evaluation system. 

• Piggyback on existing surveys – or not. Too many surveys can be a problem, but one reason not to include questions about the teacher-evaluation system in existing surveys is if teachers are not taking those surveys seriously. District leaders need to time surveys on the teacher-evaluation process so as to get thoughtful and accurate data. 

• Share the results and follow up. “Teachers need to see the results as a first step in demonstrating that the system takes survey findings seriously,” say Wiener and Lundy. “If no action comes out of the survey process, not only will the evaluation system stagnate, but teachers will lose faith and disengage.” Principals need to take the results to heart, and principals’ supervisors and central-office leaders need to use the data effectively to praise effective practices and address problems. 

• Look at the data over time. “It is vital to track whether teachers and others are perceiving improvements in the implementation of evaluation reform,” say the authors. “Such a focus will go a long way toward building employee trust in the system and a commitment to making evaluation really work in schools.” 

“Survey Says: Using Teacher Feedback to Bolster Evaluation” by Ross Wiener and Kasia Lundy in American Educator, Spring 2014 (Vol. 38, #1, p. 14-17, 44), 

http://www.aft.org/pdfs/americaneducator/spring2014/Wiener.pdf 

From the Marshall Memo #531