Self-evaluation is the process of auditing and making judgements about your professional performance for the purposes of improvement.

Knowledge bank

• Self-evaluation is just one of a range of ways in order to judge success and plan for improvement in schools. It is usually carried out by judging your performance against a series of criteria or standards.
• Self-evaluation can operate at a range of levels, from the whole school through individual subject areas to the work of a specific teacher.
• In recent years the government has formalized the process of self-evaluation in schools, through its new reporting procedures for Ofsted inspections. However, it’s important to note that the process is not simply another government initiative – self-evaluation in some shape or form has been embedded in many schools’ (and other organizations’) work for some time, and is widely recognized as a powerful tool for improvement.
• The spirit of self-evaluation in education is to encourage those working in the school to identify what is working well, while at the same time recognizing things that need attention in order for improvements to be made.
• One of the valuable features of self-evaluation is its ability to provide a baseline against which to judge future progress. The process can be carried out on several different dates, spaced out over a period of months or years, to obtain high-quality quantitative data. This can be analysed in order to pick out trends and patterns. Moving forward, things can then be reviewed at regular intervals, using the same self-evaluation framework.
• The principal value of self-evaluation to the day-to-day work of the classroom teacher is its ability to provide, in a focused way, a means of analysing in detail what is happening in classrooms and elsewhere, and the impact this is having on learners. The highest-quality self-evaluation at the classroom level occurs when teachers tailor the self-evaluation materials to their own specific circumstances.
• Self-evaluation requires openness and honesty on behalf of those taking part. An unfortunate feature of Ofsted’s self-evaluation process is that the findings can be used as a stick with which to beat schools, rather than merely a genuine tool for school improvement. This has had an impact on the ability of schools to engage honestly with the process.
• The most effective teachers are involved in regular self-evaluation of their work and recognize the importance of this tool to hone their practice. This goes far beyond mere reflection by the teacher on lessons, though it grows out of such reflection.
• Teachers are likely to see the influence of their school’s self-evaluation work through a range of new measures and changing emphases, including some which may become requirements in their classroom against their wishes.

Ask yourself

• To what extent do you use self-evaluation in your work as a teacher?
• How does your self-evaluation work relate to other aspects of your continuing professional development?
• How does your school’s self-evaluation work impact on you on a day-to-day basis?
• Who else can support you as you engage in self-evaluation work of your own?

To do list

• Find out more about the self-evaluation work taking place in your school, including the people responsible and the key documents relating to your institution.
• Decide what specific aspects of your teaching should come under most scrutiny in your own self-evaluation work.

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