Every elementary, middle and high school teacher will be evaluated in 18 criteria, such as attitude toward teaching and guiding students, by their colleagues, students and parents, at least once a year from the spring semester.

Evaluations of teachers is not a bad idea in itself.  It can be good.  Much depends on how they are used:  if it includes influencing pay and other contract-related items, then it is a problem.  A teacher’s literal fortune should not rest on the input of teenagers or younger.

Evaluations by colleagues is also an OK concept, but the truth is — they aren’t in another teacher’s classroom enough to know what you’re doing in it.  The same goes for the type of observations that are common in the US:  You can’t tell much from a 15 minute spot check or even sitting in on a whole class.

But the biggest item in the quote that stood out for me was — giving power to the parents…

Hakwon hell for those who teach non-adults is a nightmare thanks in large part to the demands of the ajumma.   Korean mothers say they just want the best for their kids and that is why they are so demanding, but they actually do much to destroy any chance of effective teaching.  And that is what is likely to happen if Korea gives parents more power over public school teachers.

In the US, the school administrators will generally back up their teachers unless one of them does something outrageous.  From talking with Korean teachers, that is not the case in Korean schools.  And from having taught and worked with Korean adults a good bit, if you ask them their opinion on something – like what to teach in a class – and you don’t do it, they get beechim (pissed).  Just hearing their input isn’t enough.

The article says wages won’t be influenced by the scores, but that can easily change in the future.

Teachers who receive good scores in the evaluation will receive incentives such as a sabbatical year, while underperformers will have to attend mandatory training courses.

My guess is that the new system will encourage teachers to kiss up to the students and parents.

Because it is a business, teaching in the hakwons is more about keeping the students happy than it is about teaching the language.  Giving power to the teens and lower through evaluations is likely to push teachers in that direction as well.

Korean education needs reform, and having evaluations is not a bad idea in itself, but I doubt in the Korean context it will amount to much good.