Music Teacher Evaluation and Student Growth in Music

This chapter provides an in-depth analysis of the development and implementation of an alternative student growth measures system specifically designed by arts educators to provide teachers with a fair, flexible, and rigorous method of demonstrating teacher effectiveness as part of a multiple measures teacher evaluation system. We also present a brief overview of the Race to the Top legislation as well as the No Child Left Behind waivers in the United States as they relate to the increased attention to the use of student growth and achievement data in teacher evaluation systems. An overview of the multiple-measures evaluation systems with particular attention to the use of student growth data portion of the multiple measures is also included. The initial guidance from the US Department of Education regarding various approaches of incorporating student growth data in teacher evaluation systems is discussed. Implications for music education are also presented.