Vol. 11 No. 6 (2016): What They Think About How They’re Evaluated: Perspectives of New York State Physical Educators on Teacher Evaluation Policy

While research on high stakes testing continues to expand, little is known about how the use of student test scores to evaluate teachers is affecting physical education (PE). A proportionate, stratified random sample of physical educators in New York State was drawn (n=489) to survey them about their district’s practices and their attitudes about the State’s new teacher evaluation policy. Results indicated that 38 percent of respondents reported their district used students’ written PE test results for teacher evaluation purposes, while 27 percent indicated that their district used student fitness tests for teacher evaluation purposes. Eighteen percent of respondents reported that their district used state-mandated English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics test scores in calculating physical educators’ effectiveness ranks. While few reported using performance-based measures, 94 percent of respondents indicated these as the preferred means of assessment in PE. Eighty-three percent of respondents predicted that the new teacher evaluation system would not improve PE.