Since 2009, more than 35 states have made policy changes to their system of teacher evaluations. Many factors have driven the increase of teacher evaluation overhauls, including federal grant programs such as Race to the Top and the Teacher Incentive Fund, as well as the administration’s No Child Left Behind waivers. Recently, a network of Read more about Map Provides Context for Reforms of Teacher Evaluation Systems[…]
A new report, “An Ocean of Unknowns”, from Laura Bornfreund at the New America Foundation describes the challenges involved with attempting to reform teacher evaluation systems to include student data for pre-k through grade 2 students. Following are portions from the executive summary of that report: What is the best way to use data to Read more about Rating Early Elementary Teachers: Where’s the Data?[…]
The Center on Great Teachers and Leaders combines the efforts of three education organizations: American Institutes for Research (AIR), Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), and Public Impact. They are dedicated to supporting state education leaders in their efforts to grow, respect, and retain great teachers and leaders for all students. The GTL Center continues Read more about New Resources from the Center on Great Teachers and Leaders[…]
The U.S. Department of Education has decided that due to ambitious timelines for the implementation of college and career-ready standards, new assessments aligned with those standards, and new teacher and principal evaluations, states may request waivers to ensure that there is sufficient time to prepare teachers for implementation of the new standards before stakes are Read more about A Waiver from the Waivers[…]
Value-added methodology is being applied to the evaluation of teachers in tested grades and subjects, but the vast majority of the research on value-added measures focuses on elementary schools only. Secondary grades differ from elementary grades in ways that are meaningful for the validity and reliability of value-added measures for secondary teachers. In a new Read more about Does Value-Added Work Better in Elementary than Secondary Grades?[…]
Nearly every state is revamping its teacher evaluation system, with most states requiring evaluations that employ a mixture of student performance and observation of teachers. While there has been much forward movement, there has been just as much concern, especially over the fairness of the new evaluations for teachers in non-tested grades and subjects. In Read more about June Issue Brief: Teacher Evaluation[…]
Education Secretary Arne Duncan recently gave a speech to the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting in San Francisco, California. His remarks addressed the issue of testing, specifically with Common Core implementation becoming ever more imminent. Here are some excerpts from the speech: Introduction: With federal support, 44 states plus DC are part of two Read more about Choosing the Right Battles: Secretary Duncan’s speech at AERA[…]
Download a new white paper written by Core Education’s president, Kimberly Fleming, PhD: https://www9.performancematters.com/?page_id=1308 Following is from the press release about the white paper: Over the last 15 years, Student Learning Objectives (SLOs) have gained tremendous momentum in K-12 education. In several states, including Florida, New Jersey, New York, and Ohio, these measurable instructional goals Read more about New White Paper on Technology and SLOs from Core Education’s President[…]
Aspen Institute’s Education & Society Program recently released a new report entitled, “Evaluating Evaluations: Using Teacher Surveys to Strengthen Implementation” by Ross Wiener of the Aspen Institute and Kasia Lundy of The Parthenon Group. Apple and other high-performing companies use employee surveys to drive continuous improvement. The report asks why schools couldn’t also use surveys Read more about Feedback from Educators Is a Key Resource for Continuous Improvement[…]
Even though it has been known for some time that teachers and principals play the largest role in student success, it is only recently that districts and schools have started making requisite changes to their strategic management of talent. This is the central contention of Allan Odden’s new report, Getting the Best People into the Read more about Getting the Best Teachers into the Toughest Jobs[…]
Last month, the Democratic Party in California held a three day convention. The convention, at which the California Teachers Association was prominently represented, sparked a wave of rhetoric that reveals at least a temporary rift among some members and former members of the Democratic Party in California. The rift concerns how much school choice and Read more about California: Hot Seat for Contentious Education Issues[…]
Back in mid-March, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, hosted the third International Summit on the Teaching Profession. This particular summit focused on teacher quality, including professional standards and teacher appraisal. The past two took place in New York City at the invitation of Education Secretary Arne Duncan. Marc Tucker of the National Center on Education and the Read more about Reflections on the 2013 International Summit on the Teaching Profession[…]
With news that 7 teachers in Florida, with the support of the National Education Association, are suing the Florida State Education Department, the issue of how to evaluate teachers is again making headlines. The teachers in Florida assert that their due process and equal protection rights are being violated because they were given evaluation scores Read more about Evaluation for Educators in Non-Tested Grades and Subjects[…]
Through the influence of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which has provided money for many different educational studies in recent years, Bill Gates has become an influential name in education. It might be expected that Gates would support educational reforms more along the lines of the privatization-corporatization model as well as support reforms that Read more about Bill Gates on Teacher Evaluations[…]
Data from states that have recently begun using teacher evaluations aligned with student performance suggest that the numbers can be deceiving. Very high percentages of teachers are receiving “effective” or higher scores on their teacher evaluations—above 97% in Florida, Michigan, and Tennessee. Depending on whom you talk to, this can mean a number of different Read more about Evaluating the new Teacher Evaluation Systems[…]
In “Flexibility for Fairness: Crafting Business Rules for Student Learning Objectives” AIR’s Amy Potemski explores the ways in which states are creating “business rules” to allow for flexibility in the SLO process. SLOs, or Student Learning Objectives, are being used across states as a way to provide a student growth measure in non-tested grades and Read more about AIR offers Helpful Recommendations on Teacher Evaluation[…]