American Expatriate Costa Rica

Students perform better if teachers are evaluated

Shanghai, Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan are listed as the best countries in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). This test evaluates the performance of students in different subjects.

In all these countries, among other control measures, the work done by teachers is evaluated. Analysts from the BBC said there is a significant relationship between student performance and follow-up on teacher’s work.

Most countries with good educational outcomes evaluated their teachers,”

said Cristián Cox, a professor from UNESCO’s Regional Office of Education for Latin America and the Caribbean to the BBC World.

Despite this, in many countries there is resistance to teacher evaluation.

In Costa Rica the measure has been blocked by the unions and the Ministry of Public Education (MEP). The union feared it was a tool to lower wages and the ministry said the measure is not ready to be implemented.

Alejandrina Mata, dean of the School of Education at the University of Costa Rica (UCR), stated

I imagine they have an inadequate conception of what ‘evaluation’ means. I guess they think it is to punish or fire people and this shows ignorance.”

crhoy.com