Teacher Assessment in Lithuania Dalia Brazienė, The Senior specialist of Culture, Education and Sports Department of Kaunas Region, Lithuania 12 / 04 / 2016

NATIONAL LEVEL External quality assessment At least once in 7 years MUNICIPALITY LEVEL Teacher certification According to teachers ‘ request SCHOOL LEVEL Internal self- assessment Supervision (observation) Every year Teacher Assessment

External quality assessment and school’s internal self-assessment are based on the same 67-indicator system 5 areas of school performance: School Strategic Management Education and Learning Achievements Support for Students School Culture

External quality assessment The National Agency for School Evaluation performs external evaluation of school leaders and school activities. The Agency has a ready comprehensive Lessons Quality Assessment Protocol. The Agency monitors the lessons and gives feedback to teachers(at least 3 strengths and 2 areas for improvement), but it is not an individual teacher evaluation. The main focus is on class observation analysis of processes ongoing at school (i.e. 75 % of collected information). Report and conclusions are sent to school and to municipality. The areas to be improved are mostly from lesson’s activities. The goal of external evaluation is to promote the improvement of schools for the better quality of (self-) development and better achievements of students.

Assessment for Teacher Certification School teachers‘ performance is evaluated by the school leader, the head of education (the deputy) or by the head of the department. A teacher submits a request to the Director for higher qualification category and is included into the School training plan.

Assessment for Teacher Certification According to the requirements set by the Ministry of Education and Science, teachers are evaluated in three areas: 1.efficiency of the educational process (8 criteria); 2.communication and collaboration (5 criteria); 3.individual professional development (4 criteria). The evaluation of teacher performance is not obligatory. For the acquired category the teachers get a higher salary. A teacher can submit a request for a higher category after 3 years.

The scheme of school internal self-assessment Leadership and Management School Culture Education, Learning and Students' Experiences Educational Environment Results

Internal self-assessment In the process of internal self-assessment participates all school community: administration, teachers, students, parents. All schools are connected to the on-line system IQES online Lietuva with the aim of collecting and processing data efficiently and improving performance. According to the results of internal self-assessment and School priorities the administration develops the Annual Plan. The goal of self-assessment is to forecast the prospects for school improvement.

Supervision (observation) Every year, the School management team assess teachers‘ lessons according to provided observation purposes: School‘s performance priorities, Individual teacher performance, Problem solving. Schools prepare the lessons Assessment Protocols. They are constantly being improved. Observed lessons are analyzed and assessed in the light of the observation purpose. During the interview the teacher evaluates his/her performance and the results achieved, hears out the observer's opinion and suggestions. They agree on performance improvement methods and tools.

Conclusions Conclusions of the supervision are discussed with Teachers‘ Council and methodological groups. The supervisors improve lessons evaluation competencies attending special seminars, collaborating with colleagues, participating in the projects.