Communication Framework for Measuring Teacher Quality and Effectiveness: Bringing Coherence to the Conversation
Edited from the publisher: The purpose of this publication “is to facilitate communication about policies regarding teacher effectiveness by helping to build a shared understanding of the terminology used in the discussion. The framework intends to illuminate both the possibilities and the limitations of focusing on teacher effectiveness in education policy and practice. The communication framework is followed by definitions of key measurement terms (Appendix A), three communication tools (Appendix B), resources that provide information on standards for teaching quality (Appendix C), and additional resources from NCCTQ (Appendix D).”
This publication clearly defines its goals and meets them, providing clarity and tools for communicating about measuring teacher quality. It also appears to be one of the few resources on this specific topic. The methods used to develop the communications framework are reasonable, although drawing largely from research rather than specific experiences or examples, which might have increased the framework’s usefulness. Nonetheless, the utility should be reasonably high, especially given the additional four appendices, several of which could be useful tools. Communications quality is good, although the writing uses a fair amount of academic language, and one could argue that the components of the framework should begin with goal clarification rather than communication planning itself. For anyone working in the field of measuring teacher quality, this is a worthwhile read.