Teacher efficacy and teacher competency ratings

This cross-validation study investigated the relationships among teacher sense of efficacy, superintendents' ratings of teacher competency, and selected demographic and background variables. One hundred fifty-five teachers from 15 districts in a Southeastern state participated in the study. Multiple regression indicated variables significantly related to efficacy scores were: competency rating by superintendent, birth order, and whether the teacher would again choose teaching as a career. Using discriminant analysis, superior and average competency teachers could be differentiated from low competency teachers on the basis of four significant variables, one of which was efficacy scores. This analysis placed 80.52% of the teachers in the appropriate group, and accounted for 29% of the variance in groups. Analyses also indicated some support for the consistency of superintendents' ratings of teachers across districts.