Trends in Teacher Evaluation Systems in Public Education CEC’S POSITION ON SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER EVALUATION

© Council for Exceptional Children, 2013 Danielle Kovach CEC Teacher of the Year Barbara Messinger –Elementary Principal- Fairfax County School District Kerri Larkin-Director, Academic Programs, Office of Specialized Instruction, District of Columbia Public Schools

© Council for Exceptional Children, 2013 How Did We Get Here? International Comparisons Uneven Teacher Evaluation Systems Political Context We Are Here!

© Council for Exceptional Children, 2013 Where Are We Now? New Teacher Evaluation Systems Include:  35 States + Washington, DC use student achievement as a significant factor;  27 States + Washington, DC require annual evaluation;  19 States use evaluation to drive tenure decisions;  17 States require parent, student, peer surveys;  8 States are linking student performance to teachers and back to teacher preparation programs Source: National Council on Teacher Quality: State of the States _Evaluations_NCTQ_Report _Evaluations_NCTQ_Report

© Council for Exceptional Children, 2013 Where Are We Now? (cont.) Measures of Teaching Practice Measures of Student Growth Outcome of Teacher Evaluation Observation(s) Student, Parent, Peer Surveys Review of artifacts/work samples IEP facilitation Whole school climate/achievement Standardized test scores Locally designed assessments Measuring growth Student learning objectives Examples of student work More than binary evaluation system Personnel decisions Compensation Professional development Impact on preparation programs Source: Center on Great Teachers & Leaders: Building Education Evaluation Systems that Support Students with Disabilities

© Council for Exceptional Children, 2013 “…States must carefully analyze instruments and results to make sure special education teachers are getting a fair deal.” - National Council on Teacher Quality State of the States 2013 Connect the Dots: Using evaluations of teacher effectiveness to inform policy and practice Where Are We Going?

© Council for Exceptional Children, 2013 Danielle Kovach 2014 CEC Teacher of the Year

© Council for Exceptional Children, 2013 Barbara Messinger Elementary Principal Fairfax County School District

© Council for Exceptional Children, 2013 Kerri Larkin Director, Academic Programs Office of Specialized Instruction District of Columbia Public Schools

CEC’s Position on Special Education Teacher Evaluation System Components Complex Role Measure Evidence- Based Practice Recognize Professionalism Incorporate Research Dissemination

© Council for Exceptional Children, 2013 All educators must be included in one evaluation system. Evaluation systems must identify appropriate professional development opportunities for teachers based on the results of their evaluations. Evaluations must support continuous improvement. Evaluation processes and all measures of teacher effectiveness must be open and transparent to the teacher being evaluated. Teacher Evaluation Systems Shall: Include Fundamental System-Wide Components

© Council for Exceptional Children, 2013 Evaluations must clearly identify and be based on a special education teacher’s specific role and responsibilities during a given school year. Evaluations must take into account the population of children and youth and their range of exceptionalities that special education teachers instruct. Evaluations must be conducted by evaluators with expertise related to evidence-based service delivery models and individualized teaching practices and interventions in special education. Teacher Evaluation Systems Shall: Identify the Complex Role of the Special Education Teacher

© Council for Exceptional Children, 2013 Evaluations must be based on multiple reliable measures and indicators that support valid measurement of special education teacher effectiveness. Evaluations should never be based solely on student growth. Statistical models that estimate a teacher’s contribution to student growth, such as value-added models, should not be applied to any teacher until there is a general consensus among researchers that the model provides a valid estimate of a teacher’s contribution to student growth. Teacher Evaluation Systems Shall: Measure the Use of Evidence-Based Practices

© Council for Exceptional Children, 2013 Use of IEP Multiple indicators of special education teacher effectiveness may include … IEP development and implementation. Evaluations should not use a student’s progress on their goals, objectives, and benchmarks in the IEP as a measure of a special education teacher’s contribution to student growth.

© Council for Exceptional Children, 2013 Evaluations must respect special education teachers’ professional practice and provide them with constructive and actionable feedback, resources, and opportunities to assist in addressing any areas for professional development and lead to well-grounded personnel decisions. Special education teachers must have reasonable case loads and paperwork responsibilities; competitive salaries; benefits; access to resources; and positive working conditions. Teacher Evaluation Systems Shall: Recognize the Professionalism of Special Education Teachers

© Council for Exceptional Children, 2013 Leaders of evaluation systems reforms must collaborate to ensure that the development and implementation of evaluation systems are carried out in a systematic, coordinated, and efficient manner. Research should identify reliable measures and indicators of student growth that can be validly used to evaluate special education teachers. Policy makers and leaders should consider the intended and unintended consequences of wide-scale implementation of teacher evaluation systems. Teacher Evaluation Systems Shall: Continually Incorporate Findings From Research

© Council for Exceptional Children, 2013 “If you don't like the road you're walking, start paving another one.” - Dolly Parton

© Council for Exceptional Children, 2013 CEC Tools For you! Teacher Evaluation Toolkit for Special Educators! Visit: Policy & Advocacy CEC Position on Special Education Teacher Evaluation

© Council for Exceptional Children, 2013 Learn, Understand, Navigate New Teacher Evaluation Systems with the Help of your CEC Colleagues Through this Online Dialog! Visit: CEC Tools For you!

© Council for Exceptional Children, 2013 Discussion Topic: How is the implementation of your new evaluation system going? Does your system address special education? What tools/resources do you need to ensure a fair system?