District Administration - January 2012 - (Page 27)

that staff can teach teachers how to teach if necessary, but they cannot teach a candidate to believe that all students can learn. Grier says, “They can’t instill empathy or the idea that high expectations for student learning are possible, or that you get nowhere by blaming a student’s background for his or her lack of success in school.” The Traditional Approach The more traditional method starts with generally accepted standards of excellence and a job description for teachers developed by teacher training colleges. Interviewers design questions around these traits, subjected to expert reviews and tested in the field. This process is based on “what is good.” These kinds of questions appear more “job related” and are more acceptable to HR administrators and teacher candidates who tend to view personality tests as disconnected “psychobabble.” Just read teacher blogs to see how unpopular online screens are with those who fail them. One entry on a ProTeacher blogs thread on screening methods reads, “It’s so sad to know that my career comes down to a test. Whatever happened to interviewing someone in person? Teaching is my calling, and a test will determine my fate.” Teacher Selection Tools The effectiveness of commercially produced teacher screening tools is measured by how many candidates receive a satisfactory evaluation during their first year on the job. Some companies are reluctant to quantify the success of their tools, and it is hard to validate the claims that they do make. However, the extra value added by teachers as measured by student test data offers a new avenue to test the reliability of teacher screens. Districts can look at the value-added scores of teachers to measure the effectiveness of those they hired. Still, value-added does not provide feedback on teacher characteristics like drive, persistence and empathy, so inferential correlation is the best you can do to evaluate the effectiveness of the hiring process. Gary Gordon, a strategic consultant for Gallup, is enthusiastic about a new version of TeacherInsight that was released in February 2011 that uses value-added test scores. Gallup has gone back to the core idea of defining an effective teacher before beginning a search. In partnership with Battelle for Kids, a nonprofit in Columbus, Ohio, Gallup looked at the value- RESOURCES Nonprofit organization that focuses on human capital www.battelleforkids.org Article on behavior-based interviewing by Mary Clement www.naesp.org/resources/2/ Principal/2008/J-Fp44.pdf TeacherInsight talent screen from Gallup www.gallup.com/consulting/education/22093/teacherinsight.aspx Star Teacher profile for urban schools www.habermanfoundation.org Houston Independent School District Human Resources www.houstonisd.org/portal/site/ humanresources Teacher traits selection tool www.venturesforexcellence.com Wonderlic Behavioral Risk Profile www.wonderlic.com/assessments/ behavioral-reliability/behavioral-riskprofile added scores of 5,000 teachers in grades 3 to 8 generated from Ohio Achievement Assessment. Gallup took the top 10 percent of teachers based on their value-added scores and developed a talent assessment based on their responses to questions to gauge their talent, behavior, thoughts and feelings. That is, the pool of exemplary teachers was defined by student performance, not by recommendations from principals and peers, as was the case with past TeacherInsight tools. As this is a new tool, data is being collected to measure reliability and to recalibrate based on results from the field. Final Thoughts Commercial teacher selection tools devel- oped by field-testing questions about the traits and behaviors of teachers are used to statistically compare excellent and marginal teachers and to generate predictive questions for separating the two groups. It’s a statistical process and should not be used as a sole method of teacher selection. The big issue with personality traits is that excellent teachers in the sample pool may not have displayed desired traits when they first started teaching. As a result, many teacher preparation colleges suspect that personality screens eliminate new teachers disproportionately, as they have not had time to develop certain traits. Others disagree, believing that personality remains constant over time. Many districts do not have the internal resources to track the success of candidates once placed. However, it is generally accepted that personality screens will reduce your margin of error by about 25 percent. They will not fine-tune your search to find the “best” teacher, but they will create a consistently high-quality pool from which to select teachers. Personality screens are effective and efficient in narrowing the applicant pool. Job-related questions help to refine that pool further. In addition, selection teams should look to past practice to judge future performance by viewing lessons when possible. While it is important to develop your “teaching brand,” be mindful that there are dangers in always finding a fit for your philosophy. By doing so, you may overload your teacher pool for a particular trait when diversity is more important for overall organizational strength. This can be a do-it yourself process. According to various research on teacher selection tools, if you have good questions and an easy-to-follow rubric, you can be successful 70 percent of the time, as even inexperienced teachers or administrators on a panel can score to a rubric. Specific training and practice can increase that to 90 percent. DA Eamonn O’Donovan is an assistant superintendent of human resources in southern California and a columnist for DA. www.DistrictAdministration.com January 2012 27 http://www.battelleforkids.org http://www.naesp.org/resources/2/Principal/2008/J-Fp44.pdf http://www.gallup.com/consulting/education/22093/teacherinsight.aspx http://www.habermanfoundation.org http://www.houstonisd.org/portal/site/humanresources http://www.venturesforexcellence.com http://www.wonderlic.com/assessments/behavioral-reliability/behavioral-risk-profile http://www.DistrictAdministration.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - January 2012

District Administration - January 2012
Contents
Letters
News Update
Conversations
District Profile
Administrator Profile
Finding the Perfect Fit
Kansas City Plots Next Steps
Seeking Savings in Special Ed
K12 Guide to Audio/Visual Solutions
Equipping Teachers to Infuse Technology
Flipped Classrooms Gaining Ground
Buying in Bulk
Online Identity Management
Going Mobile
Student Counsel
Online Edge
New Books
New Products
Product Focus
Professional Opinion

District Administration - January 2012