问答题
Read carefully the following excerpt on teacher quality assessment, and then write your response in NO LESS THAN 200 WORDS, in which you should: . summarize the main message of the excerpt, and then . discuss the pros and cons of one particular teacher quality assessment measure introduced in the excerpt. You can support yourself with information from the excerpt. Marks will be awarded for content relevance, content sufficiency, organization and language quality. Failure to follow the above instructions may result in a loss of marks. Write your response on ANSWER SHEET THREE. Teacher quality assessment commonly includes reviews of qualifications, tests of teaching quality, and observations of teaching practice. Assessments of teacher quality are currently used for policy making, employment, merit-based pay awards, and as data to inform the professional growth of teachers, etc. Teacher qualifications include a range of variables affecting teacher quality: type of teaching certification, undergraduate major or minor, undergraduate institution, advanced degree(s) or certifications, type of preparation program, test scores, and years of teaching experience. In many countries, teaching credentials represent the main measure of teacher quality and serve as a threshold of holding teaching positions. Teacher quality with regard to student achievement—also known as " teacher effectiveness"—is measured in terms of student achievement gains. Student achievement is measured through the use of standardized tests to determine the academic growth of students over time. Assessments of teacher quality may also draw upon evidence collected from observations of teachers’ work that lead to the growth of effective teachers. This evidence may be collected from in-person or video recorded observations of teaching, pre- and post-observation conferences with teachers, and samples of teachers’ work with students. Assessments of teacher practice may examine teacher quality for a single lesson or over an entire school year. Such assessments may be impression-based or narrative in form but have become increasingly more common in teacher quality assessment.
【正确答案】Teacher Quality Assessment Measures
In the given excerpt, teacher quality assessment encompasses various measures ranging from reviews of teacher qualifications, tests of teaching quality, to observations of teaching practice. These measures serve various purposes. In my view, teaching quality testing should be the most important means of evaluating teachers’ quality.
Admittedly, teacher quality, or teacher effectiveness, can be objectively measured in terms of student achievement, as the use of standardized tests allows for quantitative and standardized means of assessing student achievement. Moreover, teaching quality testing establishes a common benchmark for measuring teacher performance, promoting accountability and ensuring that teachers meet expected standards while delivering quality education to students.
Nevertheless, relying solely on tests of teaching quality poses certain limitations. To begin with, some tests for students cannot fully evaluate the quality of teachers’ teaching, because these tests may not fully capture the breadth of skills and knowledge that teachers teach in the classroom. Additionally, the tests can be influenced by external factors beyond the teacher’s control, including students’ socioeconomic backgrounds, home environments, and test-taking abilities. Both of the points mentioned above can result in inaccurate measures of teacher effectiveness.
In conclusion, although teaching quality test is an important means of evaluating the quality of teachers, it should not be the sole determinant. To ensure a fair and holistic assessment of teacher quality, a comprehensive approach must be taken, including a variety of measures such as observations of teaching practice and feedback from students and parents.
【答案解析】本题所给材料主要介绍了三种评估教师素质的措施：教师资质审核、教学质量测试和教学实践观察。写作时，首先要总结所给材料的主要内容，然后具体分析选段中的某一种教师素质评估措施的优缺点。考生审题时一定要注意题目要求中的关键词“the pros and cons”和“one particular teacher quality assessment measure”，以防偏题。最后总结全文，并重申自己的观点：教学质量测试并不是评价教师素质的唯一方式，要强调综合评估的重要性。