A descriptive study of the effects of North Carolina's state mandated Teacher Performance Appraisal System on school districts with less than forty-five hundred students in average daily membership

Abstract

In 1981 the General Assembly of the State of North Carolina passed legislation that required that all school districts in the state adopt a uniform system of teacher performance appraisal. The State Department of Public Instruction was charged with the responsibility of developing the instrument to be used and a plan for implementing the instrument. One of the major components of the TPAS adopted by the State Board of Education in August of 1983 was the requirement that assistance be provided to help teachers improve upon any areas that are identified to be weak. In most school systems the responsibility for implementing staff development activities falls upon personnel in the central office.

This study was designed to investigate the effect of the implementation of the TPAS on the central office staff in school districts with less than 4,500 pupils in ADM. This size group was chosen because of the divisions in the state formula for the allocation of personnel for central office staff members. School districts in this size range are allotted two professional staff members for the central office staff. These personnel are one superintendent and one instructional supervisor. School districts with more than 4,500 pupils receive additional central office personnel.

The research for this study was conducted through a survey distributed districts of this to all 65 superintendents in school size in North Carolina. The results of the survey were reported by frequency distribution. The research data revealed a positive feeling about the TPAS from the superintendents except for the fact that the TPAS had increased the financial and staffing burden on the school districts by creating the need for more staff development funds and a director of personnel position. The superintendents also indicated that the state mandated TPAS was an improved system over the one previously used in that school district. The data also tend to indicate that a state mandated system of teacher performance appraisal can be successful, particularly if it is followed by an adequate amount of financial and personnel support.