I think a peer review process is a great idea.  In fact in my district beginning teachers have mentor teachers who review their performance and give them postive, constructive feedback.  The problem is that after two years the review process ends.  All professionals at any different stage of their career can benefit form constructive peer review.  the key word here is constructive.  Constructive on the part of the reviewer-it shouldn't be a "gotcha" situation where the teachers feel policed.  However, teachers of all experience levels need to be open to change and willing to improve.

     One other component I think is overlooked is the need to have teachers observe other master teachers.  We learn best from modeling.  Don't just have master teachers tell us what to do, they should show us.

I think that a teacher-peer review does offer an opportunity for teachers to benefit from the experience and input of a successful peer.  However, there are several cautions to keep in mind.

Bill Gates acknowledges that in establishing such a system there is likely to be an adjustment period while it gets fully implemented, and he does mention a need for a portion of a school district's budget to be allocated to the oeer-review system.  It is unreasonable to expect an excellent classroom tecaher to perform the additional duties of being a perr reviewer without proper compensation.

Excellence in teaching doesn't look the same in every classroom - in fact that is one of the reasons why teaching is an art as well as a science.  Every year the class I teach is different, and while my teaching personality has some constants, different elements come into play depending upon the needs of the class.  There do have to be some basic components in place that can be observed and measured during an instructional period, but I also think there must be time for follow up discussion during the peer review.  If I am being evaluated, we need to discuss my rationale for making certain decisions during a lesson - even if the reviewer fees that a different approcah might have been more effective.

Lastly, we need to move away from the notion that an excellent teacher can fix all.  Students and families have some responsibility for the state of our education system today.  I've worked in both impoverished neighborhoods and wealthy neighborhood schools - it's a lot easier to be excellent in a wealthy neighborhood school.

Yes I thing a teacher peer review process would be helpful to both of the participants. Another professional in the classroom can point out things that one may be saying/doing that are not as effective as they could be. I agree with a previous poster that this should probably be voluntary for both parties.