• Ability - the present or potential capacity of a teacher to perform a task or to use skills, including ones that are intellectual and physical. See   Aptitude, Performance, Skill, Talent.

• Accountability - the responsibility for implementing a process or procedure, for justifying decisions made, and for results or outcomes produced. Teachers are often said to be accountable for their students' learning in the assigned subject area, within the limits of the students' abilities and the time and resources available. See  Responsibility.

• Accuracy - (1) the degree to which the data and information collected about the performance of a teacher are precise and correct measures of performance and are free from error. (2) one of four areas of standards in The Personnel Evaluation Standards: How To Assess Systems for Evaluating Educators  by the Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation. This area has eight sets of standards: Defined Role, Work Environment, Documentation of Procedures, Valid Measurement, Reliable Measurement, Systematic Data Control, Bias Control, Monitoring Evaluation Systems. See  Bias, Conflict of Interest, Credible, Error of Measurement, Feasibility, Propriety, Quality Check, Rater Effect, Utility, Verification.

• ADA - Americans with Disability Act. See   Handicapping Conditions.

• Administrative Feasibility (of Teacher Evaluation) - the extent to which appropriate data are readily available or can be obtained, produced, or interpreted with available resources such as staff expertise, time, and equipment. See  Feasibility.

• Administrative Responsibility (for Teacher Evaluation) - accountability, as stated in the teacher evaluation policy, for the conduct of the evaluation process and for the decisions made based on the evaluation results. See  Accountability.

• Administrator - the person who is responsible for the management of the organization within which the teacher works, who usually is in charge of the evaluation of teachers, and who is accountable for the quality of teaching and for ensuring that teachers have, to the extent possible, the resources needed to perform their duties and professional responsibilities. See  Supervisor.

• Adverse Impact - a difference between certain identified groups in the effect of assessment and evaluation results on personnel decisions. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's (EEOC) indicator for possible adverse impact is that the selection rate for any race, sex, or ethnic group is less than 80% of the rate for the group with the highest rate. The pool of candidates in which adverse impact is said to have occurred must include only qualified candidates. See  Fairness.

• Affective Domain - the range of feelings and emotions including interests, attitudes, motivations, values, and appreciations. See   Cognitive Domain, Psychomotor Domain.

• Aggregating - The combining of two ro more related scores into one total score.

• Alignment - the process of strengthening the linkage between job responsibilities and teacher evaluation systems, or between curriculum/instruction and assessment.

• Alternative Assessment - a variety of assessment approaches that do not use multiple-choice or closed-response items, but instead require the teacher or students to generate or produce responses. Examples of alternative assessments are portfolios, interviews, and observations. See  Authentic Assessment.

• Analysis - the treatment of data and information in order to elicit certain statistical data, assessment results, and evaluative conclusions. See   Congruence Analysis, Quality Check, Synthesis.

• Analytic Scoring - an approach to scoring or rating that considers various parts or aspects of the attribute or performance being assessed, for use in profiling strengths and weaknesses or in obtaining an overall summary. Scores may be recorded as a check mark for presence or absence of an attribute, marked on a numerical or descriptive rating scale, or put in the form of a brief comment. See  Holistic Scoring, Primary Trait Scoring, Scoring, Scoring Rubric.

• Anecdotal Record - a short narrative of an event or activity that may be used to support generalizations about the performance of a teacher.

• Announced Observation, Visit - an observation or visit that is prearranged with the teacher to be evaluated and for which the teacher can prepare.

• Appeal Process - a procedure by which the teacher or another stakeholder can challenge the results of or a decision rendered based upon an evaluation of a teacher. An appeal may lead to a formal hearing. See  , Grievance, Hearing, Stakeholders.

• Aptitude - the potential for acquiring abilities or developing competencies. See  Ability, Capacity, Competency.

• Arbitrary - a characteristics of a decision or action that is uninformed or is based upon one person's judgment or discretion. See   Capricious.

• Artifact - (1) a product developed by the teacher or another individual. Examples include a sample lesson plan based on a designated chapter in a book, or a letter to parents from the teacher regarding a upcoming change in homework policy. (2) an artificial statistical phenomenon or result (e.g., test ceiling and floor, lack of reliability, limited sampling of teaching performance). (3) that which is artificial, contrived, or fictitious.

• Assessment - the process of or instrument for measuring, quantifying, and/or describing those aspects of teaching related to the attributes covered by the evaluation. See  Evaluation.

• Assessment Center - the process of using simulation techniques to measure teaching performance. This term does not refer to a specific location. Depending on the nature of the assessment, it could be implemented at any of several locations. See  Simulation.

• Assessor - the person who collects data and who measures attributes related to the performance of a teacher. Assessors may be principals, other teachers, students, parents, district staff, or other persons. This term includes, but is not limited to, the interviewer, judge, observer, and scorer. See   Evaluator, Interviewer, Judge, Observer, Scorer.

• Attribute - a characteristic, capacity, or perceived quality of an individual or of a thing or place such as the work context or the school. For individuals, attributes include, but are not limited to, attitude, ability, behavior, skill, knowledge, or interest. See   Construct.

• Audience - those individuals who have a potential interest in the results of teacher performance assessment and evaluation and in the quality of teaching. See   Stakeholders.

• Audit - an independent quality check and verification of the assessment and evaluation of a teacher. See   Monitoring, Quality Check, Verification.

• Authentic Assessment - an assessment approach that has been designed to provide a realistic task, simulation, or problem related to that attribute or performance being measured. See  Alternative Assessment, Portfolio, Simulation.

• Bargaining Unit - See  Collective Bargaining Unit.

• BARS - See  Behaviorally-Anchored Rating Scale.

• Behavior Summary Scale (BSS) - a type of rating assessment in which judgments about teacher performance are related to general or abstract benchmarks representing various levels of performance. See  Behaviorally-Anchored Rating Scale, Rating, Scale (Rating).

• Behavioral Checklist - See   Checklist.

• Behavioral Observation Scale (BOS) - a type of rating assessment in which judgments about teacher performance are related to a series of statements describing specific examples of observable teacher behaviors. See  Observable, Rating, Scale (Rating).

• Behaviorally-Anchored Rating Scale (BARS) - a type of rating assessment in which judgments about teacher performance are empirically linked to specific examples of incumbent performance at each level of effectiveness on the rating scale. See  Behavior Summary Scale, Rating, Scale (Rating)

• Behaviors - the actions of the teacher or others, including the students, that are specific and observable.

• Benchmark - a referenced behavior for comparing observed performance at a given level. See  Holistic Scoring, Scoring Rubric.

• Bias - (1) a systematic tendency toward a lack of objectivity, fairness, or impartiality on the part of the assessor or evaluator, often based on personal preferences and inclinations. (2) systematic error in the assessment instrument and procedures, or in the interpretation and evaluation process. See   Contamination, Differential Functioning, Error of Measurement, Fairness, Rater Effect.

• Bonus Pay - an additional sum given to a teacher for substantive accomplishments (e.g., completing a graduate degree, receiving professional certification, earning an additional credential or license). See  Incentive Pay, Longevity Pay, Merit Pay.

• BOS - See   Behavioral Observation Scale.

• BSS - See   Behavior Summary Scale.

• Capacity - the potential for acquiring skills and competencies through such means as self-study, on-the-job training, mentoring, coaching, and professional development activities. See  Competency, Skill.

• Capricious - that which is unpredictable, unaccountable, impulsive, or without a supporting rationale, or which is characterized by implied unruly or whimsical behavior. See  Arbitrary.

• Career Ladder - an incremental scale of professional teaching positions through which a teacher advances, based on evaluations of past performance.

• Ceiling - the highest limit of performance that can be assessed or measured by an instrument or process. Individuals who perform near to or above this upper limit are said to have reached the ceiling, and the assessment may not be providing a valid estimate of their performance levels. Such individuals should be given a more difficult assessment of the same attribute if it is necessary to differentiate between higher levels of performance. See Floor, Functional-Level Testing.

• Central Tendency Effect - a type of rater effect in which an assessor or an evaluator tends to rate teachers toward the mid-point of a scale or to judge the performance as average or neutral when it is actually well above or well below the middle level of the scale. This use of term central tendency is not the same as that use in statistics. See  Rater Effect.

• Certification - (1) official recognition of advanced status, outstanding performance or a high level of expertise in the profession, usually granted to incumbent teachers who have several years of teaching experience. (2) sometimes certification is used as a synonym for credential or license. See   Credentialing, License, NBPTS.

• Checklist - an instrument that specifies criteria or indicators of merit on which the assessor or evaluator marks the presence or absence of the attributes or teaching behaviors being assessed.

• Client - the agency or individual who commissioned the evaluation and to whom the evaluator has legal responsibility.

• Clinical Supervision - a process of collaboration between the teacher and the supervisor or administrator, designed to improve the teacher's performance. This process usually includes pre-observation conference, observation and data collection, data analysis, post-observation conference, and post-observation conference evaluation report.

• Coaching - the assistance given to teachers in ways that will improve their job performance, not just for the purpose of doing better on the evaluation, but also for the purpose of improved teaching and increased student learning. Coaching can include reviewing teacher products related to the domains being assessed, tutoring on the attributes being assessed, and offering feedback on the teachers' strengths and weaknesses. Coaching can also refer to teachers coaching students so that the students will perform better on a measure used as an indicator of the teacher's performance. See  Mentoring, Peer Review, Test Score Pollution, Training.

• Code- a symbol, either numeric or alphabetic, used to represent attributes or words (e.g., G3 = Third Grade, M = Math, TQ = Teacher asks question).

• Coding - the process of transforming data, evidence, information, judgments, notes, and responses to numeric and/or alphabetic codes. See  Code.

• Cognitive Domain - the range of knowledge and knowledge-related skills needed for learners to achieve different types of instructional objectives. These range from perception to knowledge of facts and acquisition of skills to higher-order inference. See  Affective Domain, Psychomotor Domain.

• Collective Bargaining Agreement - a written document, approved by representatives of administrators, policymakers, and teachers, that addresses concerns such as teacher salaries, benefits, working conditions, evaluations, terminations and dismissals, appeal procedures, fair hearings, teachers' rights, and other aspects of teaching. See  Contract, Hearing, Teachers' Rights.

• Collective Bargaining Unit - a group that represents the teachers' interests in negotiations with administrators and policymakers. See  Teachers' Rights.

• Combined Model - a scoring or evaluation procedure that uses features of both compensatory and conjunctive models. See  Compensatory Model, Conjunctive Model.

• Comments - the information provided by anyone involved in the evaluation process (e.g., teacher being evaluated, observer, interviewer, data collector, judge, analyzer, evaluator) concerning incidents or factors that could affect the quality and accuracy of the assessment data and the judgments and evaluations made (e.g., fire alarm sounded during the pre-conference interview). See  Critical Information, Notes.

• Comparability - the similarity of phenomena (e.g., attributes, performances, assessments, data sources) being examined. The amount or degree of comparability is often used to determine the appropriateness of using one phenomenon in lieu of another and to help ensure fairness. See  Equivalence, Fairness.

• Compensatory Model - an evaluation or scoring procedure that permits trade-offs of one attribute against another (i.e., low performance on one attribute can be offset by high performance on another). Most compensatory models have an absolute minimal level of performance for each attribute, below which trade-offs are not permitted. See  Combined Model, Conjunctive Model, Disjunctive Model.

• Competence (Teacher) - a teacher's repertoire of competencies. See  Competency.

• Competency (Teaching) - a knowledge, skill, ability, personal quality, experience, or other characteristic that is applicable to the profession of teaching. See  Competence.

• Component - one of the parts or processes in an evaluation system (e.g., pre-observation conference, group interview, classroom observation, portfolio).

• Composite Score - a score that combines two or more scores or results for the same or related attributes. See  Weighted Score.

• Computerized Assessment - the use of computers to measure performance on some attribute, not necessarily an attribute related to computers and technology.

• Concurrent Validity - See   Validity.

• Conference - a meeting between the teacher and the assessor or evaluator to discuss mutual concerns and to promote the understanding of the assessments being used, the evaluation procedures, the criteria and standards being applied, and how the results will be used. The conference can also be an opportunity to collect teacher responses if the conference includes an interview. See  Debriefing Interview, Interview, Responses.

• Confidentiality - the protection of data and information from persons other than those authorized to have access. See   Consent, Informed Consent, Privacy Rights, Propriety, Reporting.

• Configural Scoring Rule - a rule for interpreting a pattern of scores on two or more assessments or parts of one assessment for the same teacher. See  Pattern, Synthesis, Weighted Score.

• Conflict of Interest - a situation in which the private interests of someone involved in the assessment or evaluation process (e.g., interviewer, rater, scorer, evaluator) have an impact (either positive or negative) on the quality of the evaluation activities, the accuracy of the data, or the results of the evaluation. See  Accuracy, Propriety.

• Congruence Analysis - the verification of data by using more than one instrument or source of data for assessing performance on the same criterion. See  Multiple Measures, Triangulation, Verification.

• Conjunctive Model - an evaluation or scoring procedure that requires the teacher to attain a minimal level of performance on all attributes assessed. See  Combined Model, Compensatory Model, Disjunctive Model.

• Consent - the granting of permission by a teacher, or by the parents of students, concerning the collection, use, retention, or access to assessment data and information. See  Confidentiality, Informed Consent, Reporting.

• Consequences - any outcomes that occur as a result of implementing an assessment or measurement process. For example, just for the observation by the supervisor, a teacher uses a hands-on activity from the district's curriculum guide because the evaluation criteria encourage hands-on learning activities and require that the teachers implement the district curriculum. See  Unintended Consequences, Validity-Consequential Basis of, Validity-Systemic.

• Consequential Basis of Validity - See  Validity.

• Considered Necessary - that which is judged to be required, but may not be sufficient, to obtain an accurate and valid estimate of teaching performance or to make a sound decision about a teacher.

• Consistency - (1) implementation of procedures in an identical or near identical manner across individuals or over time. (2) obtaining the same or similar results across multiple administrations or scoring of an assessment. (3) a type of rater effect in which an assessor or an evaluator tends to rate or to interpret different data and information in a similar way. Such a rater tends to assign the same grade or rating to all assessment results and products without regard to their quality or to the scoring rubric. See  Inconsistency, Rater Effect, Scoring Rubric.

• Construct - an attribute of an individual or a phenomenon that is not directly observable, but which is theoretically based or is inferred from empirical evidence (e.g., a teacher being enthusiastic about the subject area). See  Attribute, Operational Definition, Operationalize, Valildity-Construct.

• Construct Validity - See   Validity.

• Contamination - a tendency for the assessor's data, the scorer's ratings and judgments, or the evaluator's conclusions to be influenced or confounded by irrelevant knowledge about the teacher, other personnel, or other factors that have no bearing on the teacher's level of performance. See  Bias, Error of Measurement, Rater Effect.

• Content Validity - See   Validity.

• Context (Teaching) - the environment within which the teacher works. This includes, but is not limited to, physical facilities and setting, types of students, school and community characteristics, resource availability (staff, materials, equipment, funding, time), classroom climate, school climate, degree of support provided by others, and demands made on the teacher. See   Critical Information, Induction, Learning Environment.

• Contextual Variables - See  Notes, Variable.

• Contract - a binding agreement (written or oral) between two or more parties concerning expectations, responsibilities, and possibly remuneration or award of each party. See  Collective Bargaining Agreement, Plan of Assistance.

• Contrast Effect - a type of rater effect in which an assessor or an evaluator tends to compare one teacher to other teachers rather than comparing that teacher's level of performance to the standards. See  Rater Effect.

• Correlation - the degree of relationship (linear or curvelinear) between two variables, scores, or assessments. Correlations, by themselves, do not imply cause-and-effect linkages between the two variables. See  Effective Teaching, Validity Coefficient, Variable.

• Due Process.

• CREATE - The federally-funded research and development Center for Research on Educational Accountability and Teacher Evaluation, located in The Evaluation Center at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo and directed by Dr. Daniel Stufflebeam. CREATE was established on November 1, 1990, with funding from the U.S. Department of Education (USED), Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) through October 31, 1995.

• Credentialing - the process of reviewing potential teachers' qualifications and issuing licenses to teach. See   Certification, License.

• Credible - that which is worthy of confidence and acceptance by others, usually based on the expertise, trustworthiness, and/or reliability of the source of the evidence or judgment. Credible does not necessarily mean accurate or valid. See  Accuracy, Expert, Trust, Validity-Face.

• Criterion, Criteria - a dimension along which performance (e.g., effective teaching) is rated or judged as successful or meritorious. Each criterion falls within a domain covered by the evaluation system and is defined by elements, indicators, and descriptors (see below for examples). The indicators and descriptors should be stated specifically and in measurable or observable terms. Satisfactory levels of performance on criteria are specified by standards. See   Foundation, Standard.
  • Example of a Criterion - The teacher can select and create materials that are related to the subject area and are developmentally appropriate for the students.  Domain - a broad area covered by a teacher evaluation system and for which criteria and standards are specified for assessing performances in that domain.
    Example of Domain - I. Knowledge of Instructional Design 
  • Element - a major category of teacher knowledge, skills, abilities, behaviors, and attributes within a domain.
    Examples of Elements for Domain I. -
    I.A. Planning of Courses and Lessons 
    I.B. Selection and Creation of Instructional Materials 
  • Indicator - for each element, the types of knowledge, skills, abilities, behaviors, and attributes that are empirically or by definition connected to the criterion.
    Examples of Indicators for Element I.B. -
    I.B.1. Materials selected/created fit into instructional plan. 
    I.B.2. Materials selected/created are current, correct, developmentally appropriate, and comprehensive. 
    I.B.3. Materials created by the teacher are readable to the students in terms of level of content difficulty, design, and printing quality. 
  • Descriptor - for each indicator, a specific example of the performancebeing assessed.
    Examples of Descriptors for Indicator I.B.1. -
    I.B.1.a. Teacher's handout refers to some topics covered in previous lessons. 
    I.B.1.b. Homework assignment addresses two of the district's instructional goals and objectives in this subject area for this grade level. 

• Criterion-Related Validity - See   Validity.

• Critical Incident - a significant and observable episode or performance (effective or ineffective) in a teacher's career that alters the direction of subsequent teaching behaviors, activities, or events. Such events may include noteworthy accomplishments, substantive improvement, and/or significant failures that are not typical of the teacher's performance, but which should be considered as potential information for the evaluation of that teacher's performance. See  Critical Incident Appraisal.

• Critical Incident Appraisal - the use of documentation concerning critical incidents when evaluating and making decisions about a teacher's current and potential performance. See  Critical Incident, Documentation.

• Critical Information - the knowledge about the teacher being evaluated or the assessment instruments, evaluation process, and/or working conditions and teaching context that must be known to avoid incorrect interpretations of results. See  Context (Teaching).

• Critical Score - See  Cutting Score, Passing Score.

• Curricular Validity - See  Validity.

• Curriculum - (1) a comprehensive overview, including activities planned for delivery to the students, the scope of content, the sequence of materials, interpretation and balance of subject matter, and motivational, instructional, and assessment techniques to be used. (2) a set of ordered intended learning outcomes.

• Cutting Score - a score that marks the difference between two levels of teaching performance (e.g., good and excellent). When the difference is between minimally acceptable and not acceptable, or pass and not pass, it is referred to as a cut score, critical score, or passing score. See   Passing Score.

• Dance of the Lemons - the practice of reassigning teachers who are incompetent or who are performing below acceptable levels to other positions in the school or the district. This practice is also called "pass the turkey" or "turkey trot." See  Incompetence.

• Data - the information and evidence gathered during the assessment process for use in determining the level of teaching performance. See  Evidence, Extant Data, Information.

• Data Collection Procedures - the steps and sources used to obtain qualitative and quantitative data and information about a teacher's qualifications and performance. See  Procedures (Evaluation).

• Data Integration - the merging of related data for use in scoring, judging, and evaluating.

• Data Sources - the persons, documents, products, activities, events, and records from which the data are obtained.

• DBTE - See Duties-Based Teacher Evaluation.

• Debriefing Interview - a series of questions asked after an assessment activity to clarify behaviors and activities, to fill in missing information, to encourage a teacher to reflect of his/her performance, and to identify future directions and plans for improving performance. See  Conference, Interview.

• Decision Rules - the guidelines for determining the level of merit, value, or worth of an aspect of a teacher's performance from available and relevant data and information, or for connecting those performance levels with subsequent actions such as hiring, job assignment, tenure, or licensure.

• Defensible - an action, conclusion, or statement that is explainable or justifiable, based on a solid foundation and policy, explicit evaluation procedures, valid assessments, and sound evaluation and decision-making practices.

• Definition - the description, explanation, or interpretation of various aspects of the evaluation process (e.g., attribute, domain, standard, instrument, assessor).

• Demonstration (Performance) - a specified assessment task, procedure, or activity that the teacher implements and during which performance of that teacher is observed. See  Exhibition.

• Descriptor - See   Criterion.

• Desired Outcomes - the results or products that a training program, process, instructional unit, or learning activity strives to achieve, as defined in measurable terms. See   Goal, Objectives.

• Developmentally Appropriate - a characteristic of an assessment task that reflects the skills and knowledge which teachers and students, with a given level of training and experience, have had a reasonable chance of acquiring or learning. See  Fairness.

• Diagnosis - the process of determining a teacher's strengths and weaknesses, based on the results of the assessments use in the evaluation. Diagnosis is an essential preliminary to preparing a professional development plan for a teacher or a plan of assistance in cases where remediation is needed. See  Plan of Assistance, Remediation.

• Differential Functioning - a characteristic of an assessment approach, task, instrument, or evaluation system that yields higher results for one group than another group, even though both groups have the same level of ability or competence on that aspect of teaching. See  Bias.

• Differential Prediction - the extent to which a measure estimates future performance on the same attribute differently for two or more groups of teachers who vary on relevant characteristics (e.g., years of teaching experience, special training completed).

• Discrepancy - the difference in results between two or more raters or scorers on the same assessment, or between two or more evaluators concerning the same teacher. See  Reliability.

• Disjunctive Model - an evaluation or scoring procedure that requires the teacher to achieve a minimal level of performance on only one of the attributes assessed. See   Compensatory Model, Conjunctive Model.

• Dismissal - the involuntary termination of employment which should be based upon a teacher's level of performance, school staffing needs, or reductions and layoffs. See   Forced Resignation, Hearing, Incompetence, Reduction in Force, Tenure.

• Documentation - the collection or compilation of all tangible materials, records, and forms used in the assessment of a teacher and the evaluation of teaching performance. See  Record (noun).

• Documenting - the process of recording and providing tangible evidence and information about the performance of a teacher.

• Domain - See  Criterion.

• DOTT - Duties of the Teacher. (Scriven, 1993). Kalamazoo, MI. Center for Research on Educational Accountability and Teacher Evaluation, The Evaluation Center, Western Michigan University.

• Drift - See  Rater Drift.

• Due Process - a teacher's right to fair and impartial treatment as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, by various laws (e.g., Civil Rights Act of 1964), and by related procedural requirements. See  Appeal Process, Dismissal, Hearing, Tenure.

• Duties-Based Teacher Evaluation (DBTE) - a teacher evaluation approach that is based on what a teacher is legally and professionally required to do as a teacher. Duties and professional responsibilities are specified, to a limited degree, in state laws and regulations, school district policies, job descriptions, and the normal expectations and demands for a given teaching context. See   Context (Teaching), Duty, Foundation, Responsibility, Teacher Norms.

• Duty - that which a teacher is legally required and morally obligated to do (or not do) as part of his/her job. See  Duties-Based Evaluation, Responsibility.

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