Evaluating America's Teachers: Mission Possible? - Softcover

W. James Popham, professor emeritus at University of California Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, has spent the bulk of his educational career as a teacher. His first teaching assignment, for example, was in a small eastern Oregon high school where he taught English and social studies while serving as yearbook advisor, class sponsor, and unpaid tennis coach. That recompense meshed ideally with the quality of his coaching.

Most of Dr. Popham′s teaching career took place at UCLA where, for nearly 30 years, he taught courses in instructional methods for prospective teachers as well as courses in evaluation and measurement for graduate students. At UCLA he won several distinguished teaching awards. In January 2000, he was recognized by UCLA Today as one of UCLA’s top 20 professors of the 20th century. (He notes that the 20th century was a full-length century, unlike the current abbreviated one.) In 1992, he took early retirement from UCLA upon learning that emeritus professors received free parking.

Because at UCLA he was acutely aware of the perishability of professors who failed to publish, he spent his non-teaching hours affixing words to paper. The result: 30 books, 200 journal articles, 50 research reports, and 175 papers presented before research societies. Although not noted in his official vita, while at UCLA he also authored 1,426 grocery lists.

His most recent books are Classroom Assessment: What Teachers Need to Know, 6th Ed. (2010) and Assessment for Educational Leaders (2006), Allyn & Bacon; The Truth About Testing (2001), Test Better, Teach Better (2003), Transformative Assessment (2008) and Instruction that Measures Up (2009) ASCD; America’s “Failing” Schools (2005) and Mastering Assessment (2006), Routledge; and Unlearned Lessons (2009) Harvard Education Press. He encourages purchase of these books because he regards their semi-annual royalties as psychologically reassuring.

In 1978, Dr. Popham was elected to the presidency of the American Educational Research Association (AERA). He was also the founding editor of Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, a quarterly journal published by AERA. A Fellow of the Association, he has attended each year′s AERA meeting since his first in 1958. He is inordinately compulsive.

In 1968, Dr. Popham established IOX Assessment Associates, an R&D group that formerly created statewide student achievement tests for a dozen states. He has personally passed all of those tests, largely because of his unlimited access to the tests’ answer keys.

In 2002 the National Council on Measurement in Education presented him with its Award for Career Contributions to Educational Measurement. In 2006 he was awarded a Certificate of Recognition by the National Association of Test Directors. In 2009, he was appointed to be a board member of the National Assessment Governing Board. Dr. Popham’s complete 44-page, single-spaced vita can be requested. It is really dull reading.
School Leadership Briefing Interview

"Jim Popham provides a step-by-step analysis of the do′s and don′t′s regarding evaluation, and leaves the reader with hope that, done properly, teacher evaluation can lead to better instruction. Evaluating America′s Teachers is a must read for policy makers, district and school administrators, and classroom teachers grappling with reviewing and improving teacher evaluation." Author: Alan Burke, Deputy Superintendent, K-12 Education Published On: 2012-09-23

"Dr. Popham makes many true and important points in this book. Particularly noteworthy is his point that tests are not validated, inferences are. A measure that may well allow valid inferences about what a student knows may not necessarily be valid in making an inference about teacher effectiveness. I believe that many of those wishing to evaluate teacher effectiveness miss this important point." Author: William A. Mehrens, Professor Emeritus Published On: 2012-10-23

"Through his delightful wit and insightful use of vocabulary, Jim Popham has crafted a must read book for education policy makers, school administrators, and teachers. Throughout the book there are many "pearls of wisdom" that help steer the teacher evaluation discussion in states and local school districts. As a chief state school officer who is currently working on implementing a statewide teacher evaluation system that is required to meet the Race to the Top and ESEA waiver requirements, this book provided me with the right questions to ask prior to completion of our work. I believe this book will enable readers to turn the subtitle―Mission Possible?―from a question into a reality." Author: Terry Holliday, Commissioner of Education Published On: 2012-10-24

"In the contentious environment where there are so many competing models for evaluating teacher quality (many of which are seriously flawed), it is refreshing (and essential) that strategies are considered that examine the full range of teacher quality (not just test scores on just reading an mathematics) to achieve a fair, valid, and comprehensive look at the quality of teachers. This book does just that and should be a "must read" for policymakers, administrators, and teachers." Author: Barbara Plake, Professor Emeritus Published On: 2012-10-25

"Popham′s gift of writing and his wealth of knowledge and experience pour out of every page in this book. It recognises the inevitable―we will evaluate teachers―and shows how it can be done properly provided we remember that it is humans weighing the various sources of evidence that make judgements and not isolated instruments (observations, tests, ratings) that make these decisions. Hence, multiple methods, growth models, a clarity between formative and summative interpretations, and an emphasis on ensuring that the methods have instructional validity. The book glistens with goodness, it is sobering but optimistic, and it is fun to read." Author: John Hattie, Director, Melbourne Education Research Institute Published On: 2012-10-31

"Teachers, administrators, and policy makers rejoice! Here is a single book, from a nationally recognized scholar, that makes sense of the issues involved with the evaluation of teachers." Author: David C. Berliner, Regents’ Professor Emeritus Published On: 2012-10-31

"In an effective and diplomatic manner, Popham suggests concrete ways that policy makers, along with local school leaders and teachers, can make sure our students are protected from summative teacher evaluation systems that do more harm than good. No one should make policy at any level or strive to build a defensible teacher evaluation system without studying this book." Author: Rick Stiggins, Retired Executive Director Published On: 2012-11-02

"Jim Popham has taken on one of the most contentious issues in American education today, and he presents an objective, fact-based approach to creating new systems to evaluate teacher effectiveness that are both fair to teachers and helpful in improving instruction." Author: Jack Jennings, Founder and President Published On: 2012-11-09

"Popham is softly critical of ineffective practice and common misperceptions but strongly proactive in his belief that this can be done―we can create teacher evaluation systems that are fair and have a positive impact on student learning. I truly feel after reading Evaluating America′s Teachers: Mission Possible that this task is not only, in Popham′s words a "mission possible," but it is a mission critical for America′s schools." Author: Tom Foster, Director of Research and Evaluation Published On: 2012-11-16

"As America′s educational policymakers wrestle with revamping teacher evaluation systems, decisions are likely to be made that will have real and significant consequences in classrooms―the stakes are high. Every school board member in the country needs a solidly-researched, clearly articulated guide to understanding what works and what could go wrong. Dr. Popham′s Evaluating America′s Teachers is that guide." Author: Nancy J. Budd, Esq. Published On: 2012-11-16