Includes bibliographical references (p. 160-167) and index.

The power of an effective teacher and why we should assess it -- How can we assess teacher quality? -- Assessing teacher quality with student work : the Oregon Teacher Work Sample Methodology -- Assessing teacher quality in a standards-based environment : the Thompson, Colorado School District -- Assessing teacher quality through goal-setting : the Alexandria, Virginia School District -- Assessing teacher quality based on student gains : Value-Added Assessment System in Tennessee -- Final thoughts on assessing teacher quality : guidelines for policy and practice -- Appendixes. A. Qualities of effective teachers ; B. Testing and assessment methods ; C. Oregon work sample methodology ; D. Thompson (Colorado) School District standards, tools, and strategies ; E. Resources, definitions, and performance responsibilities ; F. Tennessee framework, rubrics and forms for evaluation.

If you've ever doubted that it was fair or effective to judge teachers on the basis of student test scores alone, then here's a book that will introduce you to better ways to use measures of student achievement in your teacher assessment system. The authors take you to four schools to show you how to link teacher performance to student learning by using the following objective measurements: Quality of student work and how it reflects the outcomes specified and taught by the teacher; Level of student content knowledge during pre- and post-instruction assessments; Student progress toward annual, quantifiable academic goals; Learning gains achieved by students in relation to their growth-rates in previous years. Appendixes filled with organizers and rubrics give you hands-on ways to adapt the book's methodologies to your own situation.