Educator Evaluation Beacon

Moving Ahead with Student and Staff Feedback

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Beginning this school year, evidence used in the evaluation process must include student feedback (for teachers) and staff feedback (for administrators). For more details, please read Part VIII of the Model System or this Quick Reference Guide.

One important decision for districts is whether to use student surveys across the district, educator-selected instruments, or some combination of the two approaches.

Districts also have choices about how to use the survey results. Districts may choose to only allow teachers, and not district administrators, to view survey results.  Teachers would then be expected to incorporate evidence gleaned from the surveys into their self-assessment and goal-setting.

The Collaborative can help with the student and staff feedback in several ways. First, we offer a workshop on the topic November 19. We are bringing outside expertise to the Pioneer Valley.  Aaron Feuer, CEO of Panorama Education, the state’s chosen vendor for survey data aggregation, will speak to our Curriculum Director PLC  September 19 and at the Technology in Education Conference on January 15. In addition, we will provide tech support to districts interested in independently aggregating survey data.

Handy Guide to Teacher Performance Rubric

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It’s a year or two into the state’s new evaluation system, and districts are identifying practices and tools that smooth the  process.

One such tool is the Educator Evaluation Tour Gutour guideide, developed by curriculum directors and the Collaborative for Educational Services here in the Pioneer Valley. Sales of the Tour Guide, which presents the standards and indicators in a colorful flipbook format, have topped 2,300 copies.

For each of 33 elements, the Tour Guide includes the language of proficiency, what proficient practice might look like, and suggestions for artifacts.

Ed Eval and DDM Trainings Available This Fall

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Because we’re committed to improving instructional practice  and the supporting work of our member districts, we’re offering trainings designed to enhance the quality of the implementation of the educator evaluation system as a whole and student growth measures (DDMs) in specific.sugar maple

Click here to read more about educator evaluation trainings like our seminar for the calibration of administrators. Click here for the principal observation training.

Click here for information about DDM trainings addressing key aspects like revising tasks and rubrics for better alignment with standards and instruction.

REL Northeast Hosts Ed Eval Symposium

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Here is a good opportunity for district leaders to step back and reflect on the effectiveness of the new educator evaluation system. Register here.

Implementation of Educator Evaluation Systems: Examining Problems of Practice

Co-hosted by the Northeast Educator Effectiveness Research Alliance at REL Northeast & Islands and the National Center for Teacher Effectiveness at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, this daylong event will examine the successes and challenges related to the implementation of teacher evaluation systems. NCTE Principal Investigator Dr. Tom Kane will present research on factors related to educator evaluation systems, including capacity, measurement, impacts on practice, and school climate and culture. Through structured Q&A and breakout sessions, the event is designed to build meaningful connections between educators and researchers around the use of research to inform decision-making about teacher evaluation systems.

Thursday, October 23, 2014
9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., ET

 

Helpful DDM Resources

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I recommend taking a look (if you haven’t already) at the Massachusetts Teachers Association’s DDM Guidance. It explains impact cratermany complex topics clearly and explores new ground as well: see the crosswalk between assessment type and Bloom’s taxonomy on page 9!

Also worth a visit is DESE’s May report on Rating Educator Impact, which includes scenarios illustrating how professional judgment can inform the rating decision.