Problem Statement, Dissertation – Conclusion Example

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation of 2001 established a set of mandates requiring all public school students to meet minimum scores on standardized tests. While the intent of such legislation may have been good, the real-world results have been problematic. With so much riding on the test scores, teachers are designing classroom curricula aimed at meeting the requirements of the tests and schools are manipulating test scores to avoid receiving low performance grades (Hammond-Darling, 2010). The scores that students receive on standardized tests are being used as criteria to determine the quality of individual teachers, a practice that critics say offers an incomplete and potentially negative picture of actual teacher performance (Rothstein et al, 2010).

A number of studies have been conducted to examine how effectively standardized test scores can be used to evaluate teacher performance. Such studies have shown that adequate teacher evaluation must be done on a broader basis in order to ensure that the best teachers are retained and the worst teachers are given opportunities to improve (Rothstein et al, 2010). There are conflicting reports and opinions about how to best balance the needs of students and the quality of teachers with the mandates of NCLB. A review of the literature into this area of inquiry will demonstrate that evaluating teachers solely or almost entirely on students’ test scores offers an incomplete picture, and such approaches must be replaced or enhanced with teacher-evaluation systems that more effectively assess what teachers actually do in the classroom (Hammond-Darling, 2010).

References

Hammond-Darling, L, (2010). Evaluating teacher effectiveness; how teacher performance assessments can measure and improve teaching. Center for American Progress. Retrieved from: http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED535859.pdf

Leedy, P. D., & Ormrod, J. E. (2010). Practical research: Planning and design. Upper Sadle River, New Jersey: Merrill.

Rothstein, R., Ladd, H, F., Ravitch, D., Baker, E, L., Barton, P, E., Darling-Hammond, L.,

Haertel, R., Linn, R, L., Shavelson, R, J, & Shepard, L, A, (2010). Problems with the use of student test scores to evaluate teachers. Economic Policy Institute: Research and Ideas for Shared Prosperity. Retrieved from: http://www.epi.org/publication/bp278/