Kathy Kidder-Wilkerson Ed.D

1. Kathy Kidder-Wilkerson Ed.D Pressing Problems in Teacher Evaluation: A Review of the Case Law in the SREB States

2. What if……. “It isn’t that I don’t like little children, it’s that I don’t like having to teach them” (Squire v. BOE of Red Clay, 2006). “Trying to be a halfway decent humane person, I did not want to wipe her out totally the first year or second year” (Wilt v. Berkeley Co., 1982).

3. Or What if…. Name calling and threats (Maxey v. McDowell Co, 2002). False, retaliatory charges (Hawzipta v. Noble Co., 2000). Squirting with a water gun (Squire v. BOE of Red Clay, 2006).

4. Purposes of Evaluation Formative versus Summative Providing Accountability Determining Teacher Quality

5. The Effect of Teacher Quality Teacher quality affects student achievement the most (Darling-Hammond & Ball, 1999; Rivers & Sanders, 1996; Sanders & Rivers, 1996). A 50 percentile point difference in student achievement was identified in Sanders and Rivers’ (1996) research. “The effects of teachers on student achievement are both additive and cumulative…” (np).

6. Teacher Quality “Students unfortunate enough to encounter two or more ineffective teachers in sequence show measurably retarded academic growth” (Rivers and Sanders, 1997, p. 22). Identifying teacher effectiveness through measurement is needed to provide teachers with objective evidence enabling their own recognition of ineffectiveness.

7. The Impetus for Effective Evaluations (Background) A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform (1983) reform that focused on “the need for accountability on educators’ actions” (Veir & Dagley, 2002, p. 1). 1996 NCTAF Report, What Matters Most: Teaching for America’s Future competent, effective teachers are not a privilege but a necessity; an “educational birthright” (p. 10).

8. Background (continued) NCLB (USDE, 2002) goal was to raise student achievement. Ensure teacher quality Rush to Judgment: Teacher Evaluation in Public Education (Toch & Rothman, 2008). “…addressed the causes and consequences of the crisis in teacher evaluation” (p. 1). “…a largely neglected problem in public education” (p. 1). a potentially powerful tool that is being squandered

9. … but some scholars believe teacher evaluations are: “ritualistic”(Hazi & Arredondo Rucinski, 2006), “cursory” (Goldrick, 2002), “an administrative burden” (Halverson, Kelley & Kimball, 2004), “a bureaucratic necessity” (Wise & Darling-Hammond, 1984).

10. The Purpose Analyze case law Determine problems of teacher evaluation Determine documentation in the literature

11. Research Methods and Procedures Content analysis Document review Electronically accessed case law

12. Case Law Selection Five criteria: SREB A dismissal A classroom teacher 1980 to 2008 Based on teacher evaluation

13. Data Matrix • C:\Documents and Settings\lab\My Documents\Data Matrix.mht

14. Interpretation of the Data Research Question One: What are the problems of teacher evaluation as found in selected teacher dismissal cases of the states in the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) between 1980 and 2008 and what is the frequency of each? Matrix Question 1 Category of Problems.doc

15. Interpretation of the Data Research Question Two: Which of these problems are documented in the literature of teacher evaluation? Table 4 Question 2 Table 4.doc Question 2 Appendix B.doc

16. Interpretation of the Data Research Question Three: Which of these problems are not documented in the literature of teacher evaluation? Table 4 Question 3 Table 4.doc

17. Attitude Attitude – A mental state, positive or negative, communicated to others. “There was repeated and continuing friction between Appellee and the administrators and between Appellee and other school teachers, to the extent that it disrupted the school”(Childers v. ISD #1 of Bryan Co., 1981). “Failing to demonstrate an appropriate level of respect for her supervisor…”(Maxey v. McDowell Co., 2002).

18. Attitude “Teacher's attitude became "resentful, defiant”(Hawzipta v. Noble Co., 2000). “Appellant, didn’t really know if she was going to make any changes [in her evaluation] because she only had three years left”(Squire v. BoE of Red Clay, 2006).

19. Communication Communication – The imparting, conveying, or exchange of ideas, knowledge, information about job performance through a conversation with or in written form by an educator. “The court held that the school's principal failed to inform the teacher during an evaluation and observation that she was having problems”(Wilt v. Berkeley Co., 1982).

20. Data Data – The facts collected for reference and information in the evaluation of a teacher’s job performance. “At that time, Greenfield told the appellant that he would not recommend her for reemployment, even though his latest observation was quite positive and there had been no other observation or conference between the time of the November 5, 1979 observation, and the lengthy conference held on February 4, 1980”(Wilt v. Berkeley Co., 1982).

21. DATA • “Commissioner presented evidence from Knight's former students, their parents, her co-workers, and others that Knight engaged in inappropriate behavior, despite the fact that Knight had received satisfactory evaluations during the same time period”(Knight v. Winn, 2005).

22. “Mrs. Gaulden argues that the board’s only effort at ‘remediation,’ giving her a one-page list of reference books to read, came nowhere near the relief contemplated by either the statute or the board’s own regulations. We are inclined to agree”(Gaulden v. Lincoln Parish School, 1989). “The court reasoned that because School District's written instructions regarding the ways in which Fields needed to improve lacked specificity, and the assistance Fields received to help her improve her teaching methods was insufficient….”(Fields v. Tulsa Co., 2002).

23. Ensuring Research Quality Integrity – logical research rationale that is appropriate. Rigor – depth of intellect with sound portrayals Utility – useful and relevant to the field of teacher evaluation

24. Conclusions Problems revealed in case law provide evidence that teacher evaluation is a problematic area and may be prevented from achieving its accountability goal. Since not all of the types of problems with teacher evaluation that are manifested in case law are revealed in the literature, there are partial but selective gaps that exist.

25. Recommendations Training: Real-world applications Maxey v. McDowell Co. (2002) Practice: Repetition of errors Challenge rulings Policy

26. Recommendations (cont’d) Research: http://www.mnea.org/news/pdfs/cb_states.pdf Collective bargaining states, other geographic regions. Time periods. Level of control.