Teachers’ evaluations are an important part of maintaining a motivated and skilled workforce. The superiors such as the principal should evaluate and asses their teachers on a regular basis, not only for the organization or school itself but also for the teacher to receive feedback on their quality of teaching they do.
Performance appraisal is a method by which the job performance of the teacher is evaluated. These are part of career development and consist of regular reviews of teachers’ performance within the school. It is systematic and periodic process that assesses an individual teacher’s teaching performance and productivity in relation to certain criteria and organizational objectives. Other aspects of individual teachers are considered as well, such as human behavior, accomplishments, potential for future improvement, strengths and weaknesses, etc.
In school organization, teachers are evaluated annually and appraise through the use of Competency-Based Performance Appraisal System for Teachers (CB-PAST).
This is composed of two categories: Part 1 Components and Performance Standard. This part of CB-PAST is divided into three components: First, Instructional competence which compost of Diversity of Learners, Curriculum Content and Pedagogy, Planning, and the Assessing and Reporting. Second components are School, Home, Community Linkages which compose of Learning Environment, and Community Linkages. The third component is the Personal, Social Growth and Professional Characteristics which compose of Social Regard for Learning and the Personal Growth and Professional Development. The Part 2 is the Plus Factor. This is claimed at the end of the school for the summative appraisal. Teachers who have an over- rating of Highly Proficient, Proficient or Basic shall claim the plus factor component in the system.
Because performance appraisal is usually carried out by only one person- the principal, it is important that she/ he understand his/her role in managing performance and how performance appraisal contributes to the overall aims of the school itself.
Teachers evaluation is not only consist of performance metrics but also behavioral metrics. In addition to gauge the potential growth of the teacher the principal should specify some unique characteristics fitting to the school as an organization. The goal of evaluation should be to encourage professional excellence from the teachers rather than be use as a tool to point out shortcomes.
Performance Appraisal usually reviews past actions and behavior and so provide an opportunity to reflect on the past performance. But to be successful they should also be use as basis for making development and improvement plans and reaching agreement about what should be done in the future.
A central reason for the utilization of performance appraisal is performance improvement initially at the level of the individual teacher, and the ultimately at the level of the school as organization. Other fundamental reasons include as a basis for employment decisions such as promotions, terminations, transfer, as criteria in research such as test validation, to establish personal objectives for training programs. It also an aid in the selection of individuals who are best suited to perform the required school tasks. A performance appraisal can be part of guiding and monitoring teacher career or teaching development. It can also be used to aid in work motivation through the use of reward systems.
Performance appraisal is one of the central pillars of school organization. However, teachers should be evaluated and appraised in accordance of their behavior and good performance in the school.
By: Edwin G. Agustin | Teacher III | Bagumbayan Elementary School | Pilar, Bataan
