Attitudes of principals and teachers toward teacher appraisal as mandated by House Bill 72

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine attitudes of Texas teachers and principals toward teacher appraisal as mandated by House Bill 72. In order to accomplish this purpose, the researcher sought answers to the following questions: 1. What are principal and teacher attitudes toward the appraisal process? 2. Are principal and teacher attitudes the same toward the appraisal process regardless of school district size? A five-point Likert scale was used to assess educators' attitudes. Four hundred Texas school districts were randomly selected to receive questionnaires. Three principals and three teachers (one each at elementary, middle, and high school levels) received questionnaires. Two hundred thirty-five districts responded to the survey. Data were analyzed to obtain frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviations for responses and an analysis of variance was conducted to determine differences between and within groups, especially with regard to school district size. Half of those responding were unsure of the clarity of House Bill 72 or felt it was unclear. The majority of educators agreed that the career ladder had a dual purpose--to maximize professional growth through diagnosis and prescription and to provide monetary rewards for exceptional teachers. Teachers are strongly in favor of their involvement in the development of the appraisal process. Both teachers and principals believe that the trained principal should have major responsibility for the appraisal process. Differences in attitudes toward commitment to funding, use of a single evaluation instrument, qualifications for appraisers, and selection of appraisers by teachers are all affected by district size. The most meaningful finding with regard to practical significance was differences in attitudes between teachers and principals toward teacher selection of appraisers. One of the main implications of this study is that its substantive, long-term success could be seriously impaired because the majority of principals and teachers surveyed did not feel informed or significantly involved in initial implementation of change. Several specific recommendations for additional research related to educators' attitudes toward change and increased involvement in change were suggested.