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UPDATED: November 9, 2009 NO. 45 NOVEMBER 12, 2009
How Should We Evaluate Teachers' Ethics?
What should be the evaluation of a teacher's performance, if it is not students' test scores?
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LI SHIGONG 

What should be the evaluation of a teacher's performance, if it is not students' test scores?

This is a problem facing China's education sector after the Ministry of Education required primary and middle schools nationwide not to use students' test scores to evaluate teachers.

The solution in central China's Hunan Province is: ethics. For this purpose, local education authorities have introduced software in hopes of measuring teachers' ethics explicitly.

Credit SPMS, the proposed scoring software, was programmed by the Hunan Education Research Institute. The system measures teachers' performance in several categories, including teacher conduct, which accounts for one fourth of the total score. Some items, such as praise from parents and administrators, the difficulty of the courses taught and awards, boost a teacher's score. Others, like using corporal punishment and abusing power for personal gain, lower the score. The results will form the basis of teachers' performance bonuses.

In the past, education authorities found it difficult to evaluate and appraise teachers' ethics because they lacked criteria for measurement and a measurement system, said an official with the Hunan Education Research Institute.

Credit SPMS has stirred heated discussion. People are arguing about what teachers' ethics means, whether it can be assessed statistically and whether it should be linked to salary.

Those who oppose the appraisal system say that the quantitative measurement of ethics and bonuses on this basis will discourage teachers from being ethical for its own sake.

Supporters contend that Credit SPMS is a viable way to improve teachers' ethics by connecting ethics with economic incentives, especially at a time when social morality is not advanced enough for individuals to develop good ethics on their own. What's more, the appraisal standard for teachers' ethics will work as a guideline for teachers to follow.

Not a bad idea

Liu Changfeng (voc.com.cn): Policymakers and the public expect teachers to be models of good ethics. But sometimes we forget that when society is obsessed with material success and teachers' social status and income are much lower than before, they, like people in other trades, are making a choice between personal interests and virtue.

Obviously, the quantitative measurement of teachers' ethics and bonuses on this basis are hard to accept now because of its utilitarianism. But at the same time, we have to admit that the atmosphere of the society we are now in is not advanced enough. Against such a social backdrop, if we want to call for the return of teachers' ethics, we have to provide economic incentives. Although this approach is not ideal, it is practical.

Song Guifang (www.china.org.cn): Some people say that appraising teachers' ethics is impractical. If that is true, how did we recommend morally advanced people in the past? According to the number of beautiful words that are used to describe them? Obviously not. Therefore, we have enough reasons to believe that we are able to judge a moral model based on his or her behavior. In this sense, although no appraisal is 100 percent fair, appraising teachers' ethics is not impossible.

Quantitative measurement is everywhere in our daily lives, and few people doubt its fairness and righteousness. The widely accepted happiness index is an example. It is not inappropriate to measure something like ethics in material terms as long as it is done in a reasonable and righteous way.

When it comes to appraising teachers' ethics, their professional behavior is most important. What teachers have done decides how they score in the appraisal. We should attach more importance to perfecting the system of appraisal and ensuring its transparency and effectiveness.

Si Xin (Xiaoxiang Morning Post): We have to acknowledge that quantitative measurement will exert a positive influence on regulating teaching behavior. It will give teachers' ethics a concrete definition.

In a commodity society such as ours, offering reasonable economic incentives will encourage the cultivation of teachers' ethics.

As a trial attempt, Credit SPMS may not be perfect at first. Just give it some time so we can see if ethics becomes too closely linked with economic incentives or if the appraising body abuses its power.

Disrespectful to teachers

Xiong Bingqi (Shanghai Morning Post): Hunan Province's teacher performance assessment system divides its appraisal content into 10 categories, but these are all basic qualities and responsibilities stipulated in the Education Law and Teachers Law.

In most cases, schools evaluate teachers based on how many times he or she is complained about or punished. In this way, only teachers who have seriously violated professional ethics will be labeled as unethical teachers, while the rest will be regarded as the same in terms of teaching ethics.

Recent years have seen increasing use of the quantitative measurement of teachers' ethics. Although it is easy to carry out and seems fair, this method actually goes against the original intention of the ethics evaluation. Originally, it was meant to enhance the cultural atmosphere on campus. But rough and simple indicators will distract teachers from their work. For example, the quantitative indicator-based assessment has already resulted in serious academic bubbles at universities. College teachers do not focus on teaching, but on writing papers for publication, giving rise to a huge number of rubbish papers. Quantitative measurement is now on the brink of being eliminated in the university evaluation system. It is unwise for primary and middle schools to make the same mistake.

Education authorities and schools should abandon quantitative indicators, focusing instead on teachers as individuals and the entire teaching process. The public might worry about the fairness of evaluations that are not based on quantitative indicators. Here, we need to reform the current management system. For example, teachers and parents could be invited to participate in the formulation of teacher evaluation standards, and then those standards should be released from school leaders to teachers and parents.

Si Bei (Wuhan Evening News): When education authorities make teachers' ethics an important part of performance assessment, it seems that ethics are regarded as even more important than teaching techniques. Hunan's education authorities stressed that if the ethics evaluation was linked to their income, teacher' ethics would be greatly promoted. It sounds that without economic incentives, teachers have no reason to act ethically. If this trend is true and continues, teachers' ethics will become a problem.

Liu Yikun (www.ycwb.com.cn): The indicators for measuring teachers' ethics released by Hunan's education authorities are ridiculous. Items such as "not punishing students" are basic rules for the teaching profession, while items such as "involvement in porn scandals, gambling and drugs" are already criminal cases. If a teacher has done these things, is he or she still eligible to be a teacher? None of the indicators are related to teaching capability. According to them, apart from those who have committed crimes, all teachers will have a good ethics record.

Any quantitative measurement of teachers' ethics must be based on scientific methods, or the evaluation standards might mislead teachers. After all, computers are just a kind of tool. The key is to set up a scientific evaluation mechanism and not take it for granted that computers will automatically give you a scientifically calculated result once you have entered data.

Li Long (Guangzhou Daily): Teachers' ethics can be standardized, but they can't be measured statistically. Since schools are barred from using students' test scores to evaluate teachers, the quantitative measurement of teachers' ethics has come about in the name of quality-oriented education.

But let's put aside for now the effectiveness of the quantitative measurement of teachers' ethics. Measuring teachers' ethics and morality statistically shows disrespect for teachers. Teachers' professional ethics are priceless. It is unwise to measure teachers' morality in statistical terms and then connect it with income. It's insulting. It suggests that teachers will only display good professional ethics when there is a financial reward. Why do we only measure teachers' professional ethics in this way? Why not use the same approach to measure the ethics of other professionals, such as civil servants and doctors?

Zhao Zhijiang (China Youth Daily): Actually, quantitative measurement of professional ethics is no longer a fresh idea. But reforming the current method of ethics appraisal means encouraging teachers to take better care of their students. It is hard to cultivate this kind of love under a compulsory mechanism.

Love that springs from coercion will make students feel strange, and of course it will not last long. It is better to make good ethics the basic requirement for one to become a teacher than to force teachers to show care and love for their students after they've been hired.

Former Minister of Education Zhou Ji said last year that personal morality should be an important qualification for new teachers. Compared with the quantitative measurement of teachers' professional ethics, this proposal seems more practical and effective.



 
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