Special Educator Evaluation: Cautions, Concerns and Considerations

Authors

  • Carrie Semmelroth, M.A. (Author) Boise State University image/svg+xml
    Carrie L. Semmelroth, M.A. is a Project Coordinator in the Department of Special Education and Early Childhood Studies at Boise State University. Her research interests include special education teacher evaluation, and improving support for special education teachers in the classroom.
  • Evelyn Johnson, Ed.D. (Author) Boise State University
    Evelyn S. Johnson, Ed.D. is a Professor of Special Education in the College of Education at Boise State University. Her research interests include identification and interventions for students with learning disabilities, special education teacher preparation and special education teacher evaluation.
  • Keith Allred, Ph.D. (Author) Boise State University
    Keith W. Allred, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Special Education and Early Childhood Studies at Boise State University. His research interests include how to effectively facilitate inclusion of students with disabilities and factors that contribute to effective parent-professional relations in education.
https://doi.org/10.64546/jaasep.222
There is currently little consensus on how special education teachers should be evaluated in a way that is effective, fair and responsive to their unique teaching responsibilities. In this paper, we explain several of the current approaches to teacher evaluation under consideration, and then provide an overview of the challenges associated with the use of these models for special education teachers. We describe a model currently under development that is designed to better meet the unique characteristics of special education teacher evaluation. Our alternative approach proposes to evaluate special education teacher effectiveness through two primary components: observations of the special educator’s use of research-based instructional practices, and the resulting student outcomes reported through effect sizes on measures aligned with relevant student goals.

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There are 23 references in total.
Semmelroth, C. L., Johnson, E. s, & Allred, K. W. (2013). Special Educator Evaluation: Cautions, Concerns and Considerations. Journal of the American Academy of Special Education Professionals, 8(3), 109-118. https://doi.org/10.64546/jaasep.222

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  • Article Type Articles
  • Submitted August 9, 2013
  • Published October 15, 2013
  • Issue Fall 2013
  • Section Articles
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