Teacher Evaluation Systems: Measures of Instructional Effectiveness or Mechanisms of Structural Bias?

Abstract

As the prevalence of teacher accountability measures has risen over the past decade since the introduction of Race to the Top, so too has the evidence base about their potential bias against teachers of color. In this study, we seek to contribute to this growing literature by investigating the potential bias in teacher evaluation systems against teachers with minoritized racial and ethnic as well as gender identities. Employing data from the Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) data, we propose to use item response theory (IRT) to assess whether teachers of different identities but comparable teaching expertise receive systematically biased observation ratings on specific items across the continuum of instructional effectiveness. Given the use of these measures in high-stakes decisions around educators’ careers, the repercussions of structural bias in teacher evaluations not only are of direct harm to teachers (and students) of marginalized identities but also reinforce the dominant cultural hegemony in our educational system.

Date
May 14, 2021 12:00 PM — May 14, 2020 1:30 PM
Event
Anti-racist Colloquium Series
Location
Online