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Guidelines for Writing Letters of Evaluation and Recommendations

• Description
• Items to Include
• What Happens to the Letters?
• Sample

DESCRIPTION
Narrative evaluation letters (rather than check lists or rating scales) are used to evaluate the work of the UW - Madison Elementary student teachers.  The purposes for using this method of evaluation are: (1) to encourage evaluations to provide contextual information about the nature of the classroom in which the student teacher worked and (2) to encourage evaluators to document (with descriptive information and specific examples) judgments and inferences contained in the evaluations.  It is believed that this method of evaluation is more informative about the work of student teachers and is more useful to potential employers of student teachers than the widely used rating scale or checklist.

The "University Criteria for the Evaluation of Student Teachers" and agreements contained in the "Statement of Expectations" should be used as sources for the evaluation criteria.  Cooperating teachers should feel free to add to these criteria whenever they want to express an opinion or make a judgment that is not covered by these categories.  Following is a suggested format for organizing a letter of evaluation/recommendation.  Letters of evaluation are due two weeks after the end of the student teacher's last day in the classroom.

Items to Include within a Letter of Evaluation/Recommendation

1. A description of the setting in which the student teacher worked (e.g., grade level, school, nature of classroom program, student population, etc., length of student teaching experience).
2. A description of the student teacher's activities - A brief description of the range of the student's activities during the semester--examples of lessons or units taught; subject areas taught; materials created; modes of instruction utilized (e.g., led discussions, created learning centers); the extent of the student's experiences with one-to-one, small group, and large group instruction, etc.
3. Planning and teaching skills  - General ability to develop and implement lessons; creativity and resourcefulness evidenced in the student's planning; ability to plan for a range of pupil differences (e.g., ability levels, interests);  ability to adapt instructional methods and curriculum materials to the setting in which they are used, etc.
4. Relationships with pupils and skills in classroom management - Ability to initiate and maintain a classroom environment that enables realization of her/his classroom intentions; awareness of what is happening while she or he is teaching; ability to react on the spot to unpredictable events; ability to set and enforce limits in a humanistic manner; ability to communicate and empathize with pupils; awareness of academic and social characteristics of individual students, etc.
5. Commitment to teaching - Degree to which the student is willing to take responsibility and exercise initiative; degree to which the student can be depended upon to follow through on commitments; ability to evaluate the effectiveness of her or his teaching and to incorporate the results of these self-assessments into the future actions, etc.
6. Content knowledge - Knowledgeable of content to be taught at this particular grade level; understanding of content at the preceding and following grade levels; particular strengths and weaknesses related to specific content areas.
7. Human relations skills - Sensitive to and displays a positive attitude toward individual differences (e.g., intellectual, cultural, social, gender, racial and physical) within the classroom and, generally, plays an active role in bringing about an understanding of and respect for individual differences through the teaching methods and materials used over the course of the semester and through interactions with children and adults (e.g., used materials which do not promote derogating stereotypes of particular groups).
8. Summary of demonstrated strengths and areas of needed growth - A summary of judgments made throughout the evaluation letter and a recommendation regarding the student's certification.

Note: Wherever possible, evaluations should attempt to illustrate and support judgments that are made about the student's competence in particular areas. This documentation will give a potential employer a better understanding of the basis by which specific conclusions were reached.

What Happens to the Letter of Evaluation?
A copy of the cooperating teacher's and University supervisor's written evaluation will be placed in the student's file in the Elementary Student Teacher Office (Room 556 Teacher Education Building).  Cooperating teachers may either give a copy of their letter to the University supervisor at the end of the semester or mail the letter to the student teaching office at a later date.  Student teachers will usually ask their cooperating teacher and University supervisor to write a Letter of Recommendation for their credential file.  The Letter of Recommendation is usually the same letter as the Letter of Evaluation. Letters can be typed on forms available through EPCS or may be submitted on any school stationery.

• Reference Forms: (pdf document) (Word document)

Sample  Letter Of Reference

            Evaluation of Professional Competencies

Name of Candidate       Sally Jones                          

File No.                          

Major      Pre-School/Kindergarten                             Minor                            

Sally has completed a 16-week student teaching practicum under my supervision.  She taught in a kindergarten classroom at Thoreau Elementary School in the Madison Metropolitan School District, Madison, Wisconsin from August to December, 1986.

Sally has a sincere attitude toward children and has demonstrated concern for both the intellectual development and personal growth of the students with whom she has worked. This is clearly evident in her warm, comfortable, yet effective style of interacting with her kindergarten class. The teaching style which she has developed is not only comfortable for her but is both enjoyable and profitable for her students.

The classroom atmosphere created during Sally's lead teaching weeks reflected many fine pedagogic skills. She was able to motivate her students not only with the materials she presented but with the enthusiastic manner in which she taught her lessons. While she shows concern for the individual students in her class, she encouraged them to be self-reliant and self-guiding in their daily activities. The experiences she provided her students had an element of discovery to them and were accompanied with words of encouragement, "Let's find out,", "What do you think will happen," and "Try and see what happens."  She developed some critical notions concerning classroom management. Sally learned to control the flow of activities by using explicit directions, the proper pacing of lessons, and the skill of anticipating possible outcomes to certain activities. Sally was keenly aware of the children's need to express her/his social responsibilities and to respect the rights of others.

Sally is concerned about fostering children's creativity. During her lead teaching weeks, she planned for and presented material to her class that maximized their freedom of choice and allowed them to explore new areas of interest on their own.

I found Sally to be conscientious, cooperative and hardworking. She will make a fine teacher and an excellent addition to any early childhood education program whether in a preschool or early elementary school classroom.

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