District LeaDer’s GuiDe

evaLuatinG anD improvinG a system of evaLuation

continuously improving the system through feedback, data collection

and analysis is critically important.

© Copyright 2012 Colorado Legacy Foundation. All rights reserved.

impLementinG evaLuation systems: LearninG from pioneerinG Districts

In an effort to help districts implement local educator evaluation systems in line with the requirements of SB10-191, the Colorado Legacy Foundation is providing a suite of resources to district and school leaders. CLF worked with three Colorado districts who recently revised their evaluation process. Although these districts implemented their new systems prior to passage of sB191, the process that each district went through is informative. Highlighting these districts and the lessons they learned along the way will help other districts leverage their success and avoid re-living their most difficult challenges.

three case studies provide the foundation for this work. District and school leaders can read the case studies to learn how different districts have approached similar goals. A series of District Leader’s Guides builds on the case studies and provides more direct and specific guidance to district leaders as they move forward with implementation.

Brighton Case Study - Brighton educators and administration agreed that their evaluation system was a “dog and pony show.” In 2009 they revised their system, with terrific buy-in from the union, to more meaningfully support teachers.

Eagle Case Study - Eagle has spent nearly a decade developing their evaluation system and aligning it to instruction, assessment, and professional development.

Harrison Case Study - In 2007, Harrison hired a new superintendent who instituted a new evaluation system along with rigorous instructional supports, interim assessments, and a pay-for-performance system.

District LeaDer’s GuiDe

Evaluating and Improving a System of Evaluation

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2

3

© Copyright 2012 Colorado Legacy Foundation. All rights reserved.

Who should use this Guide?

This guide is developed for district leaders who:

• Havereadpreparing your District to implement a new educator evaluation system, communicating effectively with stakeholders, selecting and using multiple measures to evaluate educators, Determining Levels of performance, training and selecting evaluators, ensuring Data integrity, transparency, and using evaluation results.

• Haveestablishedadistrictevaluationimplementationteamwhichislookingforexamples,lessonslearnedandimplementationtipsfromColoradoschooldistricts;

• Arepreparedtoexplore,withthedistrictimplementationteamandtechnologyprofessionalsinthedistrict,thedatainfrastructureneededtoeffectivelyevaluateeducatorsandprovidethemwithtargetedsupport.

Evaluating and Improving a System of Evaluation

© Copyright 2012 Colorado Legacy Foundation. All rights reserved.

introduction

The state council for educator effectiveness (scee)setoutfivekeyprioritiesfordistrictandstateleadersindevelopingevaluationsystems.Onekeypriorityisthattheimplementationandassessmentofanyevaluationsystemmustembodycontinuousimprovement.Inthisspirit,districtsshouldconsider“systematicallyevaluatingtheperformanceoftheevaluationsystemintermsofitsgoalsandresults,andmodifyingitsstructure,processes,orformattoassuresystemefficacyandsustainability.” i

The rules that govern sB10-191embracetheserecommendationsandrequiretheDepartmentofEducationtomonitorschooldistrictandBOCESimplementationofevaluationsystems.Specifically,theDepartmentwillbefocused on:

1. IncreasingtheeffectivenessofallEducators.

2. AnalyzingthecorrelationbetweenstudentperformanceoutcomesandtheassignmentofeducatorstoPerformanceEvaluationRatings.

3. Analyzingtheequitabledistributionofeffectiveandhighlyeffectiveeducators.

4. AnalyzingtheextenttowhichPrincipalsandTeachersunderstandhowtheyarebeingevaluated,whattheyneedtodotoimprove,andhowtoaccessresourcestheyneedtosupporttheirprofessionaldevelopment.

Therulesalsoproposehoweachoftheaboveobjectivesmaybeevaluatedandthedatathatmaybeused.MoreinformationfromCDEonhowdistrictswilldemonstratecompliancewiththelawwillbeavailablepriortoJuly2013,thedatebywhichdistrictswillneedtodecideiftheyareusingtheirownsystemoradoptingthestatemodelsystem.

Districtsmayalsowanttoconsidermeasuringthefollowingoutcomes,asproposedbytheStateCouncilforEducatorEffectiveness.

stuDent achievement anD equity outcomes:

• Studentoutcomesareimproving.

• Educatorsareincreasingtheireffectivenessovertime.

• Districtsareretaininghighlyeffectiveandeffectiveeducatorsatagreaterratethanineffectiveeducators.

• Districtsareincreasingthenumberandpercentageofhighlyeffectiveandeffectiveeducatorsinhighneedsschoolsandsubjectareasovertime.

• Districtsareattracting,developingandretainingmorehighlyeffectiveeducatorsovertime.

• Effectivenessratingsofteachersandprincipalsareconsistentwithoverallstudentandschoolperformance.

© Copyright 2012 Colorado Legacy Foundation. All rights reserved.

introduction (cont.)

eDucator support outcomes

• Districtsareabletoprovidemoreindividualizedandusefulfeedbacktoeducatorsovertime.

• Districtsareusingeducatorevaluationstofacilitatemeaningful,growth-producingdialoguewithandamongeducators.

• Educatorsarereportingthattheprocessisprofessionallymeaningfulandassiststhemintheimprovementoftheirpractice.

• Educationprofessionalscollaboratearoundimprovingstudentoutcomes.

• Educatorsareusingdataandfeedbacktoimproveteachingandlearningthroughanongoingprocessofplanning,assessmentandimprovement.

• Thepre-servicetrainingandongoingprofessionaldevelopmentofeducatorsarealignedwitheachotherandwiththequalitystandardsthatinformevaluationsofeducatorperformance.

• Districtsareexperiencinggreateralignmentbetweendistrict,schoolandteachergoals.

• Thequalityandquantityofvalidandreliablemeasuresofeducatorandstudentperformanceimproveforallsubjectsandareas.

• Districts,schoolsandteachershavemoreaccesstoexamplesofbestpractices,includingexemplarsofinstructionalpracticeandstudentworkovertime.

• Resourcesarebeingusedtocontinuouslyimprovethevalueoftheevaluationsystem.

Educators are reporting that the

process is professionally meaningful

and assists them in the improvement

of their practice.

© Copyright 2012 Colorado Legacy Foundation. All rights reserved.

GuidinG Questions

an externaL evaLuation of the teacher evaLuation system – BriGhton 27J

Brighton 27J used a Title IIA teacher recruitment

and retention grant to hire a highly regarded

Denver consulting firm to evaluate their new

teacher evaluation system. According to the

evaluation report, the new evaluation presents a

significant potential shift in policy and philosophy

with regard to the role of school principals as

instructional leaders, and the role of the evaluation

process in not only assessing teacher talent, but in

developing teachers as professionals.

The evaluation sought to capture principals’ and

teachers’ initial perceptions at the start of school

year 2009-10 so the district would be in a better

position to make changes along the way and

to target specific areas of the new evaluation

process as it was rolled out in the first year. The

study was designed to help the district learn from

the pilot year and make any needed changes

or improvements to keep the program moving

forward to achieve its desired outcomes.

Overall, principals and teachers in

Brighton like many of the

new elements of the

evaluation system,

specifically the

emphasis on

coaching and

feedback on teacher

instructional practices.

What one pioneerinG District DiDquestions for the District impLementation team are:

• Howwillthedistrictputinplaceamonitoringandreportingsystemtocollectdataontheoutcomeslistedabove?

• Whatshouldbedoneifeducatorsarenotincreasingtheireffectivenessovertime?

• Whatshouldbedoneifdistrictsarenotretaininghighlyeffectiveteachers?

• Towhatextentareeducatoreffectivenessratingscorrelatedwithstudentachievementresults?Whatwilldistrictandschoolleadersdowhentheyarenotcorrelated?

• Howoftenwillthedistrictadministeraclimatesurveytocollectteacherperceptiondataontheevaluationsystem?

• Howareeducatorsusingdataandfeedbacktoimproveteaching and learning through an ongoing process ofplanning,professionallearning,assessmentandimprovement?

• Howcanthedistrictestablishexplicitbenchmarks,targetsorindicatorstodeterminetheeffectivenessoftheevaluationsystem?

• Areeffectiveteachersequallydistributedacrossschoolswithinthedistrict?Ifnot,whatactionshoulddistrictleaderstake?

© Copyright 2012 Colorado Legacy Foundation. All rights reserved.

pioneerinG Districts suGGesteD the foLLoWinG impLementation tips:

implementation tips

• Be open to – and seek—feedback on the evaluation system, especially from teachers and principals. Makeadjustmentstotheevaluationsystembasedonconstructivefeedback.

• Track student outcomes.Aretheyimproving?Ifnot,whatotherdatacaninformthis?Itcantakeayearormoreforteacherstoimprovetheirinstructionalpractices,whichmeansstudentachievementgainsarenotinstantlyidentifiable.

• Track new hires, retention and promotion.Whatistherateofpromotionandretention?Whatistheratingofteachersthatareleavingthesystem?Theteachersthatarestaying?Thenoviceteachers?Whatisthedistrict’sretentionrate?

• Administer a “climate survey.”Askteachersandprincipalstheiropinionsoftheevaluationsystem.Reporttheseresults.Actonthemwhereappropriate.

• Hire an external evaluator.Becausetheyareanonymousandexternaltothedistrict,externalevaluators can collect authentic data and report it to district leadership.

• Identify what high performing teachers in the district do.Sharethesepracticesacrossthedistrict.

• Identify more measures that can be used to evaluate teachers and students. Pioneering districts were either searchingfornewmeasuresordevelopingtheirown—ordoingboth.

• Focus on continuous improvement.Everyyearthereshouldbeadaptivechangestotheevaluationsystembasedonfeedbackandotherdata.Alwaysask:Howistheevaluationsystemmeetingitsgoals?

• Evaluate district programs as well as the evaluation system.Districtleadersshouldidentifywhatprogramsareworkingforwhatstudentsandwhatprogramsaren’tworking.Howcanprincipalsandteachersbeheldaccountableforstudentachievementwhendistrictprogramsaren’tworkingfortheirstudents?

• Identify what professional learning opportunities are supporting teachers’ instructional skills.Frequentlysolicitteachers’feedbackonwhathelpsthembebetterteachers.

• Promote collaboration.Eveninhighstakesevaluationsystems,teacherswanttosharetheirpracticesandlearnfromotherteachers.

• Ensure principals are instructional leaders.Allthreepioneeringdistrictshadahighpriorityonimprovingprincipals’skillsasinstructionalleaders.Principalsarenotonlytheevaluatorsofteachers,theyarealsocoachesandmanagersofinstruction.Principalsmustthereforeusethequalitystandardsforteachersandevaluationresultstoimprovetheirschools.

© Copyright 2012 Colorado Legacy Foundation. All rights reserved.

Author:JaneArmstrong,JMArmstrongandAssociates

Research Support and Editing:HeatherChikoore,ColoradoLegacyFoundation

Research Support for the Case Studies:UlccaHansen,ColoradoLegacyFoundationandKristenDavidson,UniversityofColoradoatBoulder

Centralofficestaff,schoolboardmembers,principals,teachers,parentsandcommunitymembersparticipatedininterviewsthatinformedthedevelopmentofthisguide.Brighton,EagleandHarrisonSchoolDistrictsopenedtheirdoorstoresearcherstodescribewhattheyweredoing,howtheyweredoingit,thechallengestheyfacedandlessonstheylearned.Intervieweeswerebothgraciousandcandidintheirinterviews.Withoutthem,thisknowledgecouldnotbecapturedandshared.

i LauraGoe,LynnHoldheldeandTriciaMiller.A Practical Guide to Designing Comprehensive Teacher Evaluation Systems. (Washington,DC:NationalComprehensiveCenterforTeacherQuality).May2011.

acknoWledGements

Continuouslyimprovingthesystemthroughfeedback,datacollectionandanalysisiscriticallyimportant.Nosystemwillbeperfect,butweighingdifferentoptionsfordifferentpurposesandoutcomesshoulddriveimprovementstotheevaluationsystem.Collectinginformationondifferentaspectsofthesystemwillprovideabroadviewofhowwellitisworkingandhowdifferentaspectscanbealignedforbothefficiencyandproductivity.

conclusion

© Copyright 2012 Colorado Legacy Foundation. All rights reserved.