Supervision and Evaluation: Separate

Aspects of the Same Process

 
By Suzanne Tingley

In the national discussions about school reform,

the focus has been on teachers.

Tenure, seniority, and merit pay are hot topics in

the national news and in the blogosphere.  School
turnaround and the merits of "value added," a way
of judging teachers based on their students'
standardized test scores, have been endlessly
debated.  Conflicts between union leaders and
superintendents or union leaders and government
officials center on improving teacher
performance.  One point everyone agrees on is
that the education of our children depends on
good teachers.

But most good teachers aren't simply born that way.  Most don't walk into a classroom and
instinctively know how to plan instruction and how to manage a class.  Research tells us that it
takes about five years for a teacher to become competent in instruction and classroom
management.  Research also indicates, however, that after eight - ten years, some teachers
"plateau;" in other words, they don't get any better.  In fact, some recent research indicates that
veteran teachers may even become less effective.  So how do we develop good teachers at the
beginning of their careers and help them to maintain and even improve their skills over the
length of their careers?

Supervision. Most educators agree that continued

professional growth depends on frequent
opportunities for effective professional
development.  However, one aspect of
professional development that is often overlooked
is competent and consistent teacher supervision.
The goal of supervision is to help teachers improve classroom instruction.  It's "another set of
eyes" for the teacher in the classroom.  Supervision is nonjudgmental and does not seek to blame
the teacher for any perceived shortcomings.  Under the best circumstances, the supervisor works
as a trusted mentor, assisting the teacher in enhancing instructional and classroom management
skills.  Supervision is formative.  It's teachers and administrators working together for the benefit
of kids.

Evaluation. Supervision is not the same as evaluation.  The goal of evaluation is to determine
whether the teacher meets the criteria for continued employment in the school district.
Evaluation judges the teacher's performance against standards set by the district, the state, and
the contract and determines whether the teacher's performance is satisfactory or not.  In other
words, evaluation is summative.

Conflict. The problem arises when there is no distinction between the two functions and when
supervision and evaluation are perceived as the same thing.  In some schools, supervision and
evaluation are two separate jobs handled by two different people.  The teacher and supervisor
work together to enhance instruction.  The principal evaluates performance.

But in many districts, supervision and evaluation

are performed by the same person, usually a
principal or assistant principal. Often the
classroom observation becomes an evaluation of
the teacher rather than a collaborative exercise to
improve instruction, leading to conflict and
mistrust between teachers and administrators.

Teachers who think they're going to be evaluated

every time the principal comes in to observe their
classes are unlikely to ask for assistance or to
reveal any areas in which they might need help. 
Instead, they are often inclined to plan a lesson that may be vastly different from what students
might see on a daily basis in terms of materials and preparation. Teachers know the classroom
observation is a "test" rather than an offer of assistance, and consequently they may become
defensive, expecting the principal to be judgmental rather than supportive.

Principals, for their part, may see their job not as assisting the teacher to improve, but as telling
some teachers they're doing a good job and telling others what they need to do to improve. 
Neither behavior enhances instruction and can actually build resentment on the part of the
teacher who's told she needs to improve, but who isn't given specific help to do so.

Solution. So how can schools develop a process for supervision and evaluation that separates the
two functions even if they are the responsibilities of the same administrator?
Some schools have managed to set up protocols
agreed upon by teachers and administrators so that
the supervisor's role is carefully defined.  The
teacher and the principal in her supervisory role
meet beforehand to talk about the lesson and to
put it in context.  Teachers and supervisors are
prepared for the classroom observation and each
understands his or her role.

Both teacher and administrator follow certain

guidelines for the classroom observation itself and
meet quickly

afterwards to talk about the class.  This post-observation conference is essential to improvement
of instruction, for it is a time to discuss what happened during the class, to share information, and
to plan for what happens next.  The written document is completed only after the post-
observation conference takes place and contains no surprises.

Good supervision is planned.  It's not a drop-in nor a drive-by.  And it's not a "gotcha."

When good supervision is seen by both teachers and administrators as part of staff development,
evaluation is simply part of the process rather than something to be feared.  There are no
surprises when the teacher is eventually evaluated because she knows what she has to do to
improve and has been given the tools to do so.

Good supervision is not only planned; it is also cyclical, and ongoing. When done right,
supervision and evaluation benefit teachers, administrators, and students.

Retired superintendent and former teacher Suzanne Tingley is the author of How to Handle
Difficult Parents: A Teacher's Survival Guide (Cottonwood Press 2006). You can read her blog,
Practical Leadership, in Scholastic's Administrator's section.
http://blogs.scholastic.com/practical_leadership/

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