Differentiating Compensation: Educators Outside Tested Subjects & The New Support Structure Akron OH: May 6, 2011 Claire Robertson-Kraft Associate Director, Operation Public Education University of Pennsylvania

OPE’s goal: Attract and retain high quality educators To attract new educators of the highest quality and retain the best of our current teacher corps: We must tie rewards and consequences in K-12 to our new goals We must provide teachers with the opportunity to move up a career ladder to higher pay and status We must transform the daily experience to be more stimulating

Key Elements of Reform Effort Multiple measures. Develop a new system of evaluation based on multiple measures Alignment. Align compensation and career advancement with evaluation. Quality assurance. Ensure that only competent educators remain in classrooms. Full inclusion. Include all educators in the new system. Professional growth. Transform the daily experience to be more stimulating and provide teachers with opportunities for professional growth.

FULL INCLUSION

District employees for which value-added can be used as one of the measures in evaluation x x

Educators Outside of Tested Subjects Equity vs. Equality

Options for Including Educators Outside of Tested Subjects Partial Inclusion Include K–2, noncore, and specialists in awards for attendance, retention, and professional development; Include them in individual performance awards but to a lesser degree; Group Awards Include them in group awards only; Full Inclusion Include them completely in all aspects of the program.

Essential Questions for Full Inclusion How do we measure student learning in a valid and reliable way? How do we ensure equity and rigor in the process? How do we differentiate between ineffective, effective, and highly effective instructional practice?

Setting Growth Objectives Population: Who will be included in the objective? Student Expectations: What are students expected to achieve? Assessment: How will student learning be measured? Expected Growth: What is the baseline? How much student growth would be expected? Stretch Growth: What would qualify as exceptional growth? Differentiate highly effective from effective student growth?

Differentiating Performance Using Denver’s Student Growth Objectives Vary quantity or quality/rigor of goals Challenges include setting standards and expectations, creating assessments, and deciding on appropriate populations

Recommendations 1. Use multiple measures of performance 2. Develop thorough communication and training programs for the system 3. Seek proper buy-in and collaboration from all stakeholders

THE NEW SUPPORT STRUCTURE

Principles of Support Structure Driven by data (Integrated Assessment, Value-added Training) Job-embedded (Mentoring, Professional Learning Communities) Aligned with evaluation systems (Peer Assistance and Review, Strategic Review) Teacher-led (Professional Unionism)

Integrated Assessment High-quality summative exams Frequent formative assessment Use of assessment data to drive instruction and engage students in the learning process Margie Jorgensen, Ted Hershberg, Claire Robertson-Kraft

Value-Added Training Understand the metric Learn how it can be used for school improvement, accountability and differentiated compensation Develop mechanisms to make it part of routine instructional practice Jim Mahoney, Mike Thomas & Battelle for Kids

Mentors and Coaches Multi-year mentoring for new teachers and coaching for all teachers – Rigorous mentor/coach selection and training – Sanctioned time for mentor/coach-teacher interaction – Intensive and specific guidance for teaching practice – Involvement of all stakeholders Ellen Moir and Patricia Martin, NTC

Learning Communities to improve the quality of instruction End the isolation of teachers Teachers meet frequently and at regular intervals Use value-added and formative assessment data to guide discussions Create appropriate changes in the school calendar to support these efforts

Professional Development Review To determine new net costs for professional development – Evaluate current investment levels – Understand the target and purpose of activities – Redeploy spending per new model Karen Miles, Regis Shields & Education Resources Strategies

Professional Unionism Expands the industrial model as the classroom – rather than solely the bargaining table – becomes the venue where teachers determine their career trajectory Collective bargaining remains in place, but in compensation it sets the level of the starting salary, increases beyond minimums required at each rung of the career ladder, and the size or nature of a bonus and/or additional salary for hard- to-serve and hard-to-staff positions

“A Grand Bargain” In return for accountability, teachers win an expanded role Peer review Key part in the remediation of their struggling colleagues Equal say in major issues that affect their classrooms: professional development, curriculum or assessments not mandated by the state