Evaluating the Validity and Impact of Teaching Practice Assessment Tools in Higher Education

Evaluating teaching practice is an essential component of teacher education that provides valuable insights into the effectiveness and quality of teaching using evaluation tools. Previous research reveals that giving feedback is key in achieving effectiveness and contributing to growth and development. Consequently, evaluation results in imbalance distribution of marks which lead to inflated marks or bias because of lack of standardisation and divergent tools. This study investigated the effectiveness of tools for evaluating teaching practice as well as the elements that affect the reliability and correctness of preservice teachers’ performance ratings during practice. The study draws from Danielson’s (2022) theory as specific components that define high quality teaching. The study adopted a qualitative approach using Teaching Practice Evaluation Forms as documents to gather data. According to the literature and theory consulted for this study, these were subjected to thematic analysis. The resulting themes were coded, analysed in light of the study topics, and interpreted and analysed by comparison analysis. The findings were contextualised and issues identified, including subjectivity, standardisation, and time and resource constraints that would prevent an adequate assessment of teaching practices. Performing assessment without sufficient evidence of preservice teachers’ practice is a poor practice.