Alaska Staff Development Network – 2013 Spring Leadership Retreat Emerging Trends and issues in Teacher Evaluation: Implications for Alaska Deep Dive Break-Out Session Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Measures of Effective Teaching Study - Findings and Recommendations Session Leader: Al Bertani, RAPPS Senior Design Consultant

Learning about Teaching – Initial Findings from the MET Project Published by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation 2010 A new approach to development and evaluation that teachers endorse and that helps all teachers improve. Goals of the Gates Foundation MET Study

Learning about Teaching – Initial Findings from the MET Project Published by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Whenever feasible, a teacher’s evaluation should include his/her students’ achievement gains. 2.Any additional components of the evaluation (eg. classroom observations, student feedback) should be demonstrably relate to student achievement gains. 3.The measures should include feedback on specific aspects of a teachers’ practice and support teacher growth and development. Premises of the Gates Foundation MET Study

Gates MET Study SEE YOUTUBE LINK BELOW FOR VIDEO

Learning about Teaching – Initial Findings from the MET Project Published by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation 2010 If we want to change the curve of improvement, we must…  Identify great teachers  Find out what makes them so effective  Transfer those skills to others Strategies of the Gates Foundation MET Study

Learning about Teaching – Initial Findings from the MET Project Published by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation 2010 Measure 1Student achievement gains on different assessments. Measure 2Classroom observations and teacher reflections. Measure 3Teacher pedagogical content knowledge. Measure 4Student perceptions of the classroom instructional environment. Measure 5Teacher perceptions of working conditions and instructional support at their school. Data Collected-Gates Foundation MET Study

Learning about Teaching – Initial Findings from the MET Project Published by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation In every grade and subject studied, a teacher’s past successes in raising student achievement on state tests is one of the strongest predictors of his/her ability to do it again. 2.Teachers with the highest value-added scores on state tests also tend to help students develop a deeper conceptual understanding as well. 3.The average student knows effective teaching when he/she experiences it. 4.Valid feedback need not be limited to test scores alone. Gates MET Study Findings – Phase 1

MET Working with Teachers to Develop Fair and Reliable Measures of Effective Teaching June 2010 TODAYFUTURE SCENARIO High Level Principal Evaluations Only Rigorous Classroom Observations Input ObservationsStudent Feedback SeniorityPedagogical Content Knowledge Degrees EarnedSchool Working Conditions Moving From and To…

MET Project Ensuring Fair and Reliable Measures of Effective Teaching January 2013 Question 1 Can measures of effective teaching identify teachers who better help students learn? Question 2 How much weight should be placed on each measure of effective teaching? Question 3 How can teachers be assured trustworthy results from classroom observations? Research Study Questions – Phase 2

MET Project Ensuring Fair and Reliable Measures of Effective Teaching January Effective teaching can be measured. Teachers previously identified as more effective caused students to learn more. Groups of teachers identified as less effective caused students to learn less. Major Research Findings 2.Balanced weights indicate multiple aspects of effective teaching. Teaching is too complex for any single measure of performance to capture it accurately. Trade off’s to using different models. 3.Adding a second observer increases reliability significantly more than having the same observer score an additional lesson. Adding outside observers can provide an on-going check against in- school bias.

MET Project Ensuring Fair and Reliable Measures of Effective Teaching January 2013 Meaningful Feedback Procedures = Trust Measures Add Value Balance Weighting Potential of Video Framing What We Know Now…

MET Project Ensuring Fair and Reliable Measures of Effective Teaching January 2013 Lesson 1Student perception surveys and classroom observations can provide meaningful feedback to teachers. Lesson 2Implementing specific procedures in evaluation systems can increase trust in the data and the results. Lesson 3Each measure adds something of value. Lesson 4A balanced approach is most sensible when assigning weights to form a composite measure. Lesson 5There is great potential in using video for teacher feedback and for the training and assessment of observers. What We Know Now

How Teacher Development Could Revolutionize Our Schools? By Bill Gates published in the Washington Post February 28, 2011 “We know that of all the variables under a school’s control, the single most decisive factor in student achievement is excellent teaching. It is astonishing what great teachers can do for their students. Yet compared with the countries that outperform us in education, we do very little to measure, develop, and reward excellent teaching. We have been expecting teachers to be effective without giving them feedback and training.” Influence of the Gates Foundation

How Teacher Development Could Revolutionize Our Schools? By Bill Gates published in the Washington Post February 28, 2011 Proxies for improving student achievement…  Automatic salary increases based on seniority ($50 billion per year)  Bump in pay for advanced degrees ($15 billion per year)  Reducing class size (U.S. has twice as many teachers per student than they did in Influence of the Gates Foundation

Learning about Teaching – Initial Findings from the MET Project Published by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) - Pianta and Hamre 2.Framework for Teaching – Danielson 3.Mathematical Quality of Instruction (MQI) – Hill & Ball 4.Protocol for Language Arts Teaching Observations (PLATO) – Grossman 5.Quality Science Teaching (QST) - Pecheone Evaluation Instruments Used in the MET Study

ATLANTANot EvidentEmergingProficientExemplary COLLEGE READY PROMISELevel 1Level IILevel IIILevel IV DENVERIneffectiveApproachingEffectiveDistinguished HILLSBOROUGHRequires Action DevelopingAccomplishedExemplary MEMPHISLevel 1Level 2Level 3Level 4 PITTSBURGHUnsatisfactoryBasicProficientDistinguished PRINCE GEORGE’S UnsatisfactoryBasicProficientDistinguished TULSAIneffectiveNeeds Improvement EffectiveHighly Effective Superior Gates Partnership Sites – Levels of Performance

Gates MET Project Teaching Video SEE YOUTUBE LINK BELOW FOR VIDEO