Effective teacher evaluation rests on the discovery of the essence of teaching excellence. It is important to evaluate the essence of great teaching from as many perspectives as possible. Incompetent administrators make an effective teaching program impossible. To improve the teacher evaluation process, first look at the administrator evaluation process and the school board's self-evaluation process. Teacher evaluation can be viewed on three different levels. One is to determine termination of employment, one is to monitor teacher effectiveness, and the third encourages continued growth and development of teachers. Evaluation leading to termination can be called "intensive care" since termination should only come after a period of intensive documentation and corrective efforts. The second approach is rather superficial and may take the form of a "check list" to monitor attitudes, skills, and behaviors. The third approach, called "evaluation for growth," must be voluntary, conducted by a trusted person, and may contain such approaches as interviews, student feedback, self-assessment, and supervisor evaluation. The challenge is to eliminate incompetent teachers and at the same time help good teachers move toward higher levels of excellence. (Author/JM)