A MAILED QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY WAS SENT TO THE DIRECTOR OF TEACHER EDUCATION AND/OR CERTIFICATION IN EACH STATE TO DETERMINE THE CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH STATEWIDE PROGRAMS FOR EVALUATING TEACHING CAN YIELD THE MOST USEFUL INFORMATION FOR IMPLEMENTING STATE EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP IN THE EDUCATION AND CERTIFICATION OF TEACHERS AND IN THE ACCREDITATION OF SCHOOLS. OF THE COMPLETED QUESTIONNAIRES RECEIVED FROM ALL STATES, RETURNS INDICATED THAT ONLY THREE STATES (FLORIDA, HAWAII, AND PENNSYLVANIA) HAVE ESTABLISHED PROCEDURES FOR EVALUATING TEACHERS THROUGHOUT THE STATE. THE THREE ESTABLISHED PROGRAMS ARE DESCRIBED WITH EXAMPLES INCLUDED OF FORMS USED, BUT NONE OF THE PROCEDURES IS DEEMED ADEQUATE FOR PROVIDING DIRECT PROGRAM GUIDANCE TO FACILITATE STATE EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP. SUGGESTIONS ARE GIVEN FOR DETERMINING EVALUATION CRITERIA, THE USE OF SELF-REPORTS, RATING SCALES, AND THE PROCESSES OF OBSERVATION AND EVALUATION. FOR A TEACHER EVALUATION PROGRAM TO BE EFFECTIVE, THE INFORMATION USED MUST BE RELEVANT, INTERPRETABLE, AND RELIABLE. TWO PROPOSALS SUMMARIZE THE STUDY--(1) STATE GOVERNMENTS SHOULD BROADEN THEIR COMMITMENT TO INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH AS A BASIS FOR DECISIONMAKING IN EDUCATION, AND (2) EDUCATORS IN ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS SHOULD BEGIN TO CODIFY THEIR PROFESSIONAL WISDOM. EA 001 269 IS A RELATED DOCUMENT. (JK)