Lights, Camera, Action! Using Video Recordings to Evaluate Teachers

Petrilli, Michael J., Education Next

Way back in 1989, James Q. Wilson defined "coping organizations" as those in which managers can neither observe the activities of frontline workers nor measure their results. Police departments were perfect examples, as supervisors could not watch cops on patrol or easily gauge their crime-fighting effectiveness. As a result, agencies had to enforce rigid policies and procedures as the only way to manage their staff.

Then, in the 1990s, New York City introduced CompStat, and this equation changed forever. The NYPD compiled and continuously updated reams of crime data, which were used to identify hot spots and problem areas. In weekly meetings, precinct commanders were held accountable for quickly addressing crime spikes. Suddenly "management by results" became possible--not just in the Big Apple, but in police departments …

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Publication information: Article title: Lights, Camera, Action! Using Video Recordings to Evaluate Teachers. Contributors: Petrilli, Michael J. - Author. Journal title: Education Next. Volume: 11. Issue: 2 Publication date: Spring 2011. Page number: 85+. © 2009 Hoover Institution Press. COPYRIGHT 2011 Gale Group.

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