Teacher Evaluations that Support Professional Development

(frequent classroom observations) +  (student performance data) +  (scaled rubric) = (evaluations that promote growth)

What is the proposal?  

Through the Race to the Top initiative, the federal government should incentivize a teacher evaluation model based on a locally developed scaled rubric that incorporates information from both frequent classroom observations a student performance data.

Why adopt this teacher evaluation system? 

A more comprehensive evaluation system would provide more information to support teachers’ professional development.

How is this evaluation system implemented?

Should districts choose to adopt our model, they would agree to support both financially and with time, the following:

• Development of a scaled rubric evaluation tool to fit their particular community’s needs based on Charlotte Danielson’s four domains:  Planning and Preparation, the Classroom Environment, Professional Responsibilities, and Instruction.   
• Evaluation of teachers’ instructional skill and impact on student achievement as measured by classroom observations and standardized test scores/student portfolios.

§  Frequent observations would include pre-observation discussion, extended observation, post-observation discussion grounded in the instructional framework of the rubric 

§  Value-added models would be used to calculate students’ academic growth

§  In courses without standardized tests, student portfolios would be used

How does this evaluation system differentiate between teachers?

•  The standardized student data will be used to identify the 15% lowest and 15% highest performing teachers.    
•  The scaled rubric will be used to prioritize individual professional development supports for all teachers.

How does the teacher evaluation system influence teacher practices and/or student achievement?

• The pre-conference - observation - debrief cycle will provide teachers with the information necessary to hone their instructional techniques while establishing evaluations as a part of a developmental process meant to support teachers, not punish them.

• Teachers would be expected to work on the areas identified as the key levers for improving their instructional capacity.

• The district would use student performance data to analyze patterns within schools and between schools to best design targeted professional development supports.

• Should teachers not respond to professional development and continually underperform, then the evaluation tool could be used as a tool to document their deficiencies and thereby ease the removal of repeated poor performers.

Alternative Policy Proposal:  An Evaluation System Based Solely on Student Achievement

• Relying only on exam scores and creating a binary either 'met' or 'did not meet' expectations approach to evaluation would exacerbate measurement  and sampling errors.       

·         Under this system, it would be more likely to incorrectly label a teacher as 'ineffective.'

·         Singular focus on student achievement could incentivize some teachers to resort to test preparation strategies such as coaching their students, aligning their lessons to the demands of the exam, or even cheating.

Critiques of our Proposed Evaluation System

1.      It’s a substantial investment in time and money

Actually, a more fair and deep evaluation process could result in higher teacher retention rates and a savings in induction costs and the costs required to dismiss a teacher that was underperforming but who, with assistance, significantly improved.

 2.  This evaluation system is not a strategy for removing ineffective teachers

The evaluation tool could be a record of a teacher's persistant ineffectiveness and thus aid the dismissal process.

         3.  Building stronger Professional Learning Communities would best support teachers' professional development.

       A more comprehensive, detailed evaluation system would nurture a collaborative culture by providing a common language, a common set of expectations, a valued set of teacher practices, and observation techniques that bring teachers and evaluators together to reflect on the quality of instruction and together chart a course towards improvement.

Why now?

• The Race to the Top Fund will be funding initiatives that help districts inform teachers and principals about how they can improve instruction and will support states that allow student performance to be included in teacher evaluations. 
• Many states are now considering reversing long-standing laws that prohibited student achievement data from being tied individual teachers. 
• The Gates Foundation is investing heavily in teacher effectiveness initiatives.
• A relatively extensive student performance system has been created through No Child Left Behind
• A culture of accountability has been cultivated over the last two decades in U.S. schools

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Learn More about the the proposed policy

Read the report (Erin Borthwick, Sarah Cohodes, James Sennette, and Andrea Touhey)