INTRODUCTION

These are the major topics that we will look at in Chapter 14:

• Summative Evaluations
• The Process of Summative Evaluations.
• Problems with Summative Evaluations of Teachers

Summative evaluation according to Sergiovanni and Starrat (1998, p. 297) is the kind of evaluation which involves coming to a conclusion or making a judgement about the quality of the teacher's performance. This kind of evaluation, "rates the teacher's performance as meeting, exceeding or falling below some standard of teaching competence or some level of acceptable teaching performance."

A summative evaluation is often tied to deciding whether or not to grant a teacher tenure, whether to promote a teacher to a higher rank or whether to renew a tenured teacher's contract. Here are some distinctions between Formative and Summative evaluations

• (Formative and Summative Evaluation)
• Here is another definition Summative Evaluation
• But this may be the most precise. Formative and Summative Evaluation with Guidelines for Classroom Observation
• Another site which compares the 2 types of evaluation.

How are teachers evaluated? Do all teachers receive evaluations? Are evaluations of beginning teachers and tenured teachers the same? This Iowa system has a lot of answers to these basic questions. Read through this entire site for some of the latest in theory and practice.

1. Monte Vista Elementary Schoolhttp://www.vusd.k12.ca.us/mv/sarc/sarc99.html
2. Teacher Evaluation http://sisnet.ssku.k12.ca.us/users/yhsftp/public_html/wasc/profile.htm
3. Lafayette School Corporation, C 780 Evaluation of Administrators http://www.lsc.k12.in.us/policies/C780.html

   Here is some formative/summative evaluation form

   • Teacher Evaluation Forms (an example)

Sergiovanni and Starrat (read pages 303-304) outline some very excellent points about problems with summative evaluations of teachers. Perhaps the strongest is Assumption 2 that "Sporadic, unannounced classroom visits with no prior conversations and no subsequent discussions are a legitimate and acceptable way to assess teacher performance." Their rebuttal is excellent.