Teacher Evaluation - Issues and Resource links

In our state and around the nation, teacher evaluation is a hot topic of discussion. From discussions at the state and local levels to an element of the competitive funds for federal dollars called Race to the Top. CSTP wanted to gather the best thinking from Washington teachers about what would make a strong evaluation system that helps teachers get better to increase student learning. This also made sense from our organizational standpoint - that in amplifying the voices of accomplished teachers, their voices can be brought to the policy table and better education policy will result.

We held evaluation focus groups with teachers from around the state and asked them to envision a teacher evaluation system that made sense to them as teachers and to their profession as a whole. Click here to see a summary of what they said.  

Washington's Current Teacher Evaluation Policies:

• Evaluation goals, criteria and process - what the laws and rules say
• Unsatisfactory evaluation process - what the laws and rules say

Washington's Current Teacher Evaluation Policies: 

• Sounding Board survey responses
• Fall 2009 focus groups 

Latest News on Teacher Evaluation:

• Seattle Times editorial 3/12/11 - Beyond Pass-Fail: New Washington Educator Evaluations
• WA Superintendents support support changes to teacher and principal evaluation
• New York Times editorial on AFT's teacher evaluation model

What's Happening Nationally:

• Update on Cincinnati's Progress 
• District of Columbia Defining Instructional Expectations and Aligning Accountability and Support 
• North Carolina's new evaluation system:
  • North Carolina teacher evaluation standards
  • North Carolina teacher evaluation rubric
  • North Carolina implementation and lessons learned
• Accomplished California Teachers (ACT) Evaluation Report
• National Education Association 2009 report on teacher evaluation systems
• American Federation of Teachers' evaluation model 
• Chicago Public Schools - Year 1 Evaluation of the Excellence Teaching Pilot

Teacher Quality Models / Programs:

• Center for American Progress - Adding Value to Discussions About Value-Added: A New Framework for Talking About Teacher Effectiveness
• Milken - Understanding the Teacher Advancement Program

Effective Teaching:

• National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality's Brief - Teacher Quality and Student Achievement: Making the Most of Recent Research
• Research for Better Teaching, John Saphier power point
• CSTP & Stand for Children Effective Teaching document

Evaluation Toolbox:

• CSTP's Culturally-Responsive Classroom Descriptors
• National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality's Communication Framework for Measuring Teacher Quality and Effectiveness: Bringing Coherence to the Conversation
• National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality's Brief - Improving Instruction Through Effective Teacher Evaluation: Options for States and Districts
• TQ Center's Guide to Teacher Evaluation
• Tennessee Teacher Evaluation Observation Form
• Designing Transparent Teacher Evaluation: The Role of Oversight Panels for Professional Accountability
• Teacher Effectiveness Workshop Glossary
• Working with Teachers to Develop Fair and Reliable Measures of Effective Teaching
• Evaluating Principal Leadership in a Performance - Based School
• Evaluating School Principals Tips and Tools

Examples of Teacher Contract Language:

• New Haven, CT