Evaluation of Teachers and PISA 2009 Results in Estonia

Aims: The aim of the study was to find out whether there is any difference in the opinions of teachers from high- and low-performing schools concerning the application of different aspects of the evaluation of teachers in determining performance-related pay. In addition, the study also aimed to find out whether the above-mentioned school groups use the evaluation of teachers in determining performance-related pay in the first place.
Study Design: An empirical cross-sectional study.
Place and Duration of Study: Educational Sciences, Tartu University, from September 2011 to March 2012.
Methodology: The sample of the survey consisted of Estonian schools that participated in two surveys: (1) the PISA 2009 survey and (2) the research project “Performance and analysis influencing drivers in public schools”. The intersection of the two surveys consisted of 102 schools. In the survey conducted by the present authors, school performance was evaluated using an Ordinary Least Squares regression model as the “school effect” or value added based on school-level PISA data on student performance and student social background indices. Based on the estimated “school effect”, the sample schools were divided into three groups: schools with high, moderate and low effect on student performance. An ANOVA was used in order to test whether there is any difference between teachers’ opinions and the implementation of evaluation in determining performance-related pay in high- and low-performing schools.
Results: The results of the analysis indicated that teachers in low-performing schools expect to receive pay for each individual work process. Teachers in high-performing schools, value high student results more or, in other words, aspects related to the school’s overall performance.
Conclusion: Considering the results, it can be argued that teachers in low-performing schools do not perceive their work as a teacher as a whole and they are not orientated towards achieving good results among students.