The Assessment of Teacher Quality: An Investigation into Current Issues in Evaluating and Rewarding Teachers

Abstract

The New Zealand Treasury policy agenda seeks to initiate a regime in which educational research (however controversial, subjective and unreliable) is to be interpreted by state officials and used by state agencies to determine in close detail what happens daily in all state classrooms and, hence, influence very significantly the educational experience of every child. The agenda and advice to government are based on conventional economic theories of business process and human capital. In these it is assumed that variations in the quality of teachers and teaching can be removed over time through the use of performance incentives based on value added student achievement data. This, in turn, will resolve the problem of structural education inequalities.

We argue that teachers are only one of many factors that influence student achievement and that Value Added Measures are unreliable. Therefore they cannot ethically be used to reward or sanction teachers. Nevertheless, we strongly support the goal of improving school effectiveness. It is essential that we avoid policies (such as constant surveillance and performance management) which alienate teachers, deter students (especially the most gifted) from a teaching career, encourage unprofessional behaviour (such as cheating on tests) and lead to rapid turnover of teachers in a system that needs stability.

Instead of Treasury’s business process model and economic theories, we urge consideration of a range of policy options that are based on educational theories and research evidence that recognises the complexity of teaching and learning and the social contexts in which they occur both in and out of school. We offer six alternative policies that, if implemented carefully with sufficient resources, have the potential to make schools more effective than they are currently.

Keywords: Education policy, teacher evaluation, value added measures

JEL Classification: H22, I21, I28