States, districts, and schools all across the United States are busy developing or implementing teacher evaluation systems. One can trace this flurry of activity to a variety of reports and initiatives that highlight two failings of past efforts: (1) Teacher evaluation systems have not accurately measured teacher quality because they've failed to…

Classroom observation is a crucial aspect of any system of teacher evaluation. No matter how skilled a teacher is in other aspects of teaching--such as careful planning, working well with colleagues, and communicating with parents--if classroom practice is deficient, that individual cannot be considered a good teacher. Classroom observations can…

A Connecticut superintendent convinced his staff to try 360-degree feedback by using it first on himself. Having the collective opinion of several stakeholders made appraisal conference more meaningful. Additionally, 360-degree feedback identified and measured standards, stimulated collegiality and trust among administrators and teachers,…