Ei-iE

The third International Summit on the Teaching Profession, which brought together education ministers and officials, leaders of EI and of the teacher unions in the countries concerned, together with OECD officials in Amsterdam (The Netherlands) ended yesterday. They concluded that they had made significant progress in their discussions about the appraisal and evaluation of teachers.

The Summit was attended by delegations made up of education ministers and teacher union leaders of the 25 highest-performing countries and the five fastest risers –as defined by the OECD’s 2009 PISA report – together with OECD representatives and academics who facilitated the discussions, focused on the role of teacher appraisal and evaluation in education systems. They exchanged ideas about approaches to teacher appraisal which would ensure that it contributed to quality teaching and student learning. They also discussed the role of formal teacher evaluation in education systems and the question of whether or not it contributes to the quality of education.

After two days of discussions and the presentation of examples from many of the countries which were represented, the Summit’s verdict was clear: Formative (i.e. low-stakes assessment that is designed to help identify strengths and weaknesses in teaching and provide support and assistance) and summative (i.e. high-stakes assessment that evaluates teachers by assessing their teaching against defined standards or outcomes and with potential negative consequences for the teacher) appraisal mechanisms were fundamentally different. Many agreed that competency procedures and compensation should not be part of appraisal. Instead, the focus should be on teaching quality and continuous professional development for teachers, many delegates concluded.

These views were further reinforced by research conducted in preparation for the Summit. Education International’s The Use and Abuse of Teacher Appraisal( available for download here) and the OECD’s Teachers for the 21 st Century( available for download here) both underline this fact. “For appraisal to have any positive impact, it has to be seen by teachers as a process which supports them in their daily working lives,” EI Researcher Laura Figazzolo writes. OECD Deputy Director for Education and Skills Andreas Schleicher remarks: “Since formative appraisal can also help to raise teachers’ self-efficacy, it is a key component of effective teacher policies.”

That these findings resonate with teachers in the classroom was forcefully illustrated by Rebecca Mieliwocki, member of the National Education Association (NEA), and US National Teacher of the Year, in her intervention. “When I go into my appraisal sessions with my principal, the questions that help me most are actually very simple: How are you? What do you need? How can we help you? – That’s all it needs to support me in my work and to help me improve. So why should this kind of support not be extended to others?”

EI President Susan Hopgood in her concluding remarks said “We have made tremendous progress in our debate about the evaluation of teachers. And we have not just been talking about evaluation. We have been talking about the overall policy on teachers,” she said. “Feedback is part of professional activity. It’s part of a collaborative culture,” she added. “Teachers have no problem with accountability, but they are worried about the possible misuse of accountability. That is why these Summits, this dialogue in partnership is so important: To make sure that education policy helps teachers grow professionally – not for the sake of governments and teachers, but for the sake of all children and young people.”