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 Editorials | Opinions | July 2005 
Adequate Evaluation Of Teachers A Tricky Task
 Rhona Statland De López - The Herald Mexico
There is an ongoing discussion in Mexico about devising a different system for evaluating teachers. Currently, a complex system that considers schooling, test scores and seniority is in place.
But so much goes into evaluating good teaching. For example, knowledge of one's subject is extremely important. In a previous column, I pointed out that too many teachers in the Mexican public school system are teaching subjects that they have no expertise in. On the other hand, if a qualified teacher has a poor rapport with their students, their knowledge may account for very little.
Personality traits should also be considered. If a teacher can impart a sense of excitement about a subject, then he is considered successful. But how can that be measured? Furthermore, the same teacher may favorably influence one student, and yet bore another to tears.
Teaching style is also important. There are some educators who are natural actors and keep their students interested with a spellbinding presentation of their lessons. There are others who are softspoken and introverted but still manage to elicit a sense of community in the classroom, in which students feel safe and bullying is unacceptable.
Keeping discipline in the classroom is another factor. If a teacher does not demand good behavior, especially in classrooms with 45 or 50 students, the students may not learn much.
In Mexico City, where many teachers have jobs in different schools during the day as the pay is very low and traffic is very heavy, just showing up on time is often an accomplishment. Students should be able to expect their teachers to be wellprepared and waiting for them when they enter the classroom.
Teachers should also be willing to continue their own education, taking courses in order to keep abreast of discoveries or new ideas in their fields.
While the Secretariat of Public Education may send employees to observe a teacher's class, doing so for just an hour or so is usually insufficient time to get a full picture of a teacher's skills.
Some critics suggest different means of evaluation. Who better to criticize teachers than the students themselves? However, if pupils are asked to do an evaluation, educators might hesitate to be tough. It is difficult to hand out a failing grade to someone who will be instrumental in determining your salary and job security.
But if students cannot be objective judges, can administrators do any better? They too have their own point of view and might consider a teacher who hands in their lesson plans on time, or who keeps the kids quiet, to be good at their job.
Even if teachers' peers were asked to do an evaluation, there might be problems. Teachers who work together become friends and one might hesitate to give a friend a poor appraisal. In addition, if teachers' salaries depended on how well they do in the classroom, there might be less sharing of new ideas and methods. The feeling of camaraderie could be destroyed by pitting one against the other.
Another factor to consider is that teachers may simply try to make things look better than they actually are. Teachers could stress questions that they know will show up on tests so that students will earn higher scores. This "teaching to the test" would not alleviate other problems educators face in the classroom.
There may be students who are on drugs, others who may not know Spanish very well and still others who are suffering from the effects of broken homes. Some children are too undernourished to concentrate or have to work after school to financially help their families. All these factors can create a less than ideal classroom situation that teachers must deal with.
Despite the difficulty in arriving at a fair and equitable way of evaluating teachers, it must be done. That is why the Secretary of Public Education, Reyes Tamez, has announced that the director of the National Institute for Educational Evaluation (INEE) Felipe Martínez Rizo will attend a meeting with representatives from nine developing countries including Bangladesh, China, Brazil, Egypt, Pakistan, Nigeria, Indonesia, India and Mexico, in Monterrey in February 2006. Mexico has proposed the topic of discussion be "Policies and National Systems for the Evaluation of Education."
While most of these countries have been concerned with providing education to all their citizens, this will be the first time that the quality of that education will be discussed. Since good teachers are essential to a quality education, it will be interesting to see what methods they come up with to assess effective teaching.
Rhona Statland de López is always interested in her readers' comments. Please address them to rhonav@gmail.com |
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