Abstract:
The escalating focus on teacher performance has increased the reliance on teaching standards, accreditation processes and other forms of teacher review. With the focus on building a stronger recognition of teacher excellence, the pressure to measure and acknowledge teaching quality has commensurately grown. But do we really measure what we should? And are our performance standards sufficiently explicit to assist in differentiating teacher achievements? This paper reports on a research project undertaken on behalf of Scotch College in which a teaching quality rubric was developed to assist teachers participating in a teaching enhancement programme. The study critiqued existing standards and set out to refine and improve on those which currently operate. The paper will examine the weaknesses and issues evident in existing teacher performance standards, describe the process which was followed in developing a more effective framework and explore some of the factors which other educators may wish to consider when evaluating or adapting existing systems for their use in their own educational communities.