Teacher evaluations have always been a part of school leaders' jobs (Horng, Klasik, and Loeb, 2010). Teacher evaluation is used as a factor in determining whether or not a teacher receives a continuing contract in Virginia, and it has also been a part of the process in determining if a teacher is labeled as highly effective. In some school divisions, the rating a teacher receives may be tied to their merit-based compensation. In 2012, the Virginia Department of Education released the Guidelines for Uniform Performance Standards and Evaluation Criteria for Principals, which provides school divisions a structure for their teacher evaluation instrument (Virginia Department of Education [VDOE], 2012). This document requires that Virginia school divisions include a quantifiable measure of student performance as a component of their teacher evaluation instrument. When teachers transfer from one school to another within the same school division many aspects of their job change. For example, the school leader who performs the teacher's evaluation changes and the student population changes as well. The presence of these variables may have an effect on a teacher's evaluation, but they are not controlled by the teacher being evaluated. The purpose of this basic qualitative study is to determine teachers' attitudes toward teacher evaluation when the teacher has transferred schools within the same school division. Eight teachers were interviewed regarding their attitude toward teacher evaluation. The data indicate that the change in evaluator when a teacher transfers work sites has a stronger impact than any other variable in the transfer process. The data also indicate that a change in the context for the teacher being evaluated does not affect their attitude towards evaluation.

A significant part of a school leaders' job is to evaluate the teachers that work at the school. The evaluation can be used as part of the decision making process surrounding whether the teacher receives a continuing contract. There are school divisions that tie their salary compensation for teachers to their performance, often measured by teacher evaluation. The Virginia Department of Education provided guidance for Virginia school divisions on the criteria for evaluating teachers in 2012. The criteria requires that school divisions in Virginia include a quantifiable measure of student performance as 40% of the total evaluation for teachers. When teachers transfer from one school to another within the same school division many aspects of their job change. For example, the school leader who performs the teacher’s evaluation changes and the student population where they teach changes as well. These different changes may have an effect on a teacher’s evaluation, but are not controlled by the teacher being evaluated. Teacher attitudes towards the evaluation process may be affected by the transferring process. The purpose of this study is to determine teachers' attitudes towards teacher evaluation when the teacher has transferred schools within the same school division. Eight teachers were interviewed regarding their attitude towards teacher evaluation as a result of transferring schools. The results of the study indicate that the change in evaluator has a stronger impact than other variables and the context of where a teacher teaches does not play a large role in their attitude towards evaluation.

Ed. D.