Although fraught with politics and other perils, teacher
evaluation can contribute in important, positive ways to
faculty development at both the individual and the departmental
levels. Yet the logistics of creating a valid assessment are
complicated. Inconsistent methods, rater bias, and overreliance
on student evaluation forms have proven problematic. The essays
in Assessing the Teaching of Writing demonstrate
constructive ways of evaluating teacher performance, taking
into consideration the immense number of variables
involved.
Contributors to the volume examine a range of fundamental
issues, including the political context of declining state
funds in education; growing public critique of the
professoriate and demands for accountability resulting from
federal policy initiatives like No Child Left Behind; the
increasing sophistication of assessment methods and
technologies; and the continuing interest in the scholarship of
teaching. The first section addresses concerns and advances in
assessment methodologies, and the second takes a closer look at
unique individual sites and models of assessment. Chapters
collectively argue for viewing teacher assessment as a
rhetorical practice.
Fostering new ways of thinking about teacher evaluation,
Assessing the Teaching of Writing will be of great
interest not only to writing program administrators but also to
those concerned with faculty development and teacher assessment
outside the writing program.