10.2190/KRJR-QFJJ-J8CW-X127 KRJRQFJJJ8CWX127 0 THE UNION CONTRACT: A CONSTRANT ON THE EVALUATION OF TEACHER PERFORMANCE? 20020509 20020509 20020509 20020509 http://baywood.metapress.com/link.asp?target=contribution&id=KRJRQFJJJ8CWX127 2 SUSAN KAY SMITH Increased public interest in education as a whole, and in the performance of our public schools in particular, has focused attention on the evaluation of teachers' classroom performance. A study of teacher contracts from 446 Michigan public school districts revealed the extent to which contractual constraints exist in teacher evaluation. These contractual constraints were evaluated in relation to empirical research on effective performance appraisal systems. The results of the study show that the effect of contractual constraints is not necessarily negative. Improving the performance appraisal system by training administrators and union leaders in the development and use of valid, reliable evaluation instruments, using multiple raters and tying organizational rewards to performance is suggested.