Position on Performance Evaluation

All institutions and organizations, no matter how small they may be, should be doing some kind of Performance Evaluation. To me, it's a reflection exercise that is based on real data in order to make changes that will benefit the organization. Of course, large corporations are the ones in the lead of this discipline. Educational institutions try to adopt best practices from the business world to evaluate students, teachers, administrators, and the school as a whole. In terms of performance evaluation in education, what I believe is:

• There is no perfect "one size fits all" method. Institutions are better off looking at their current method and comparing it to others, making the necessary adjustments to their reality: size, culture, language, mission, budget, etc.
• Performance Evaluation is an ongoing process. It shouldn't be looked as a project with a beginning and end, but as a continuos cycle with an improvement component.
• Stakeholders should be aware of its value. Teachers, administrators, parents, and the community as a whole must be communicated of the process.
• The message should answer what, why, how, and when. And I find especially important to communicate what that data is being used for.

Performance Evaluation provides organizations with information to make knowledgeable changes at different levels. It is not easy to come up with a system that works and is not too time-consuming, but having it in place will help institutions make informed decisions.