State Board of Education Educator Effectiveness 2011

1. State Board of Education Educator Effectiveness 2011 Senate Education PreK-12 Committee December 9, 2010

2. Why Address Teacher and Principal Effectiveness? • Research Supports the Importance of the Teacher and the Principal Research continues to show that the teacher is the most important factor in student achievement. Examples: • Differences in student achievement of 50 percentile points were observed as a result of teacher sequence after only three years. • As teacher effectiveness increases, lower-achieving students are the first to benefit. The top quintile of teachers facilitate appropriate to excellent gains for students of all achievement levels. • Source: Cumulative and Residual Effects of Teachers on Future Student Academic Achievement (William L. Sanders and June C. Rivers, 1996)

3. Why Address Teacher and Principal Effectiveness? • Florida State Board of Education Strategic Plan, Focus Area 2: “Improve the quality of teaching and leadership in the education system” • Strengthen the connection between teacher effectiveness and student performance • Develop value-added calculations of student growth • Provide consulting experts to districts to revise and implement evaluation systems • Raise standards for entry into the profession • Maintain a highly effective workforce

4. Why Address Teacher and Principal Effectiveness? • Florida’s Theory of Action for Race to the Top: • “A strategic and sustained investment in human capital will improve student achievement.” • Begin with the right student standards, curriculum, lessons, supports and assessments • Set the goals for student learning outcomes • Align the human capital systems that support and manage the educators in the school to achieve the student goals • Teachers and school leaders must be: • Well-selected Well-respected • Well-prepared Held Accountable • Well-supported

5. Reaching Out and Listening • Commissioner’s Teacher Task Force members held local roundtables with teachers across the state (5) • State Board of Education’s “What’s Working in Instructional Leadership” series: Statewide presentations and discussions with George Noell, Andy Ford, John Schnur, Dan Weisberg and Brian Dassler(5) • Participated in legislator-sponsored roundtables (3)

6. Reaching Out and Listening • 93 meetings with superintendents and state leaders about Race to the Top Phase I and II • Governor’s Phase II MOU Working Group -successful statewide agreement on the elements of Florida’s Phase II Race to the Top Application • 21webinars, local district meetings and conference calls on Race to the Top implementation resulting in 60 approved district plans submitted to USDOE

7. Final Scope of Work Status • 69 of 72 LEAs signed the MOU (the 3 who didn’t submit MOU = Baker, Palm Beach, FSU Lab) • 65 out of the 69 LEAs submitted a Final Scope of Work (the 4 who didn’t submit SOW = Dixie, Hamilton, Suwannee, Deaf & Blind) • Students represented = 93% of state • 60 received full program approval • 5 received conditional program approval (Collier, Dade, Gadsden, Hardee, FAMU) • All received conditional budget approval

8. 2011 Legislative PrioritiesBuilding on the Race to the Top MOU Legislation that propels Florida to the next level in education reform would: • Be modeled after and aligned to the initiatives and timelines outlined by Race to the Top • Support bold actions put forward by Florida school district leadership

9. Educator Effectiveness Priorities • Teacher and principal evaluation systems that provide actionable feedback primarily based on student learning outcomes • Local compensation systems that support, reward, retain and promote the expertise of highly effective teachers and principals • Teacher and principal assignment, contracts and dismissal based on level of effectiveness and the needs of the students • Annual analysis and reporting of performance results for accountability and continuous improvement

10. I. Teacher Evaluations Two major components: • Performance of students = at least 50% • Practices of teachers = up to 50% Three major characteristics: • Quality Feedback to improve instruction • Multiple data points • Four performance levels: Highly Effective, Effective, Needs Improvement, Unsatisfactory • Use of evaluation results to inform individual, school and district level decisions

11. A. Teacher Evaluation: Performance • 50% (or greater) of the evaluation should be based on the learning outcomes of the students assigned to the teacher • Require a statewide teacher-level student growth measure for courses using state assessments • Require districts to measure student growth in other grades and subjects using high quality student assessments • Measures mastery of state-adopted standards at the required level of rigor

12. A. Teacher Evaluation: PerformanceHOW DO YOU MEASURE GROWTH? • ATTAINMENT MODEL Students take a test and the district determines the performance level of the teacher’s students • GROWTH MODEL “More to the story” - Students start the year at different levels of proficiency Check at the beginning of the year and check at the end of the year to determine “growth” of each student • VALUE ADDED MODEL “Levels the playing field” - Students begin the year at different levels of proficiency and there are factors other than instruction which impact how much each student “grows.” • Identifies and controls for factors beyond the teacher’s control • Examples of factors that can be chosen: • Student’s prior growth history (research shows prior performance is the most significant predictor) • ESE and/or ELL status • Attendance

13. A. Teacher Evaluation: PerformanceHOW DO YOU MEASURE GROWTH? WHEN FACTORS ARE CONTROLLED FOR, YOU ARE BETTER INFORMED OF THE EFFECT OF THE TEACHER’S INSTRUCTION ON STUDENT LEARNING Steps to take: • Use data from all of the teacher’s students • Use 3 years of assessment data when available • Start with simple growth of all students • Adjust for the factors you have chosen • Results in a more transparent model to determine teacher effectiveness

14. B. Teacher Evaluation: Practice • Up to 50% of the evaluation should be based on the instructional and professional practices of the teacher • Evaluate instructional practices based on Florida Educator Accomplished Practices (FEAPs) • Observation criteria used consistently by all observers • Use in combination with, for example: • ESOL Performance Standards, Reading Endorsement Standards, Next Generation Sunshine State Standards

15. B. Teacher Evaluation: Practice • Multiple data points measuring practice may include: • Parental input • Peer input • Observations by peer or outside expert observers • Student surveys, work products, artifacts/portfolios • Provide at least two evaluations per year for beginning teachers and teachers who are approaching a milestone event such promotion, professional service contract, etc.

16. I. Principal Evaluations • 50% (or greater) based on student learning outcomes • Up to 50% based on: • Recruitment of effective teachers and staff • Retention and improvement of effective teachers • Support of effective teachers • PD through lesson study • Continuous feedback systems • Measures of positive school culture/learning environment • Effective leadership actions that develop and sustain an achievement- and belief-based school-wide culture

17. Projects to Assist and Support Teachers, Principals and Districts • Assessment item banks for core subjects • Grants to establish appropriate measures for “hard to measure” subjects (Arts, Phys Ed, ESE, etc.) • Student Growth contracted assistance for statewide measure and local models • Educator Accomplished Practices revisions – SBOE review December 17th • Evaluation system contracted assistance for local evaluation system design and implementation

18. Projects to Assist and Support Teachers, Principals and Districts • Teacher Tools • Lesson Study/Formative Assessment Toolkits • Professional development on using data to improve instruction • Professional development on data from new student growth model

19. II. Compensation Systems Built on Redesigned Salary Schedules • The mostsignificant increases in the salary schedule are for effective or highly effective performance based on individual evaluation results • Differentiated pay for teachers and principals who move to and are successful in high need schools and high need subject areas • Performance increases are added to a base salary

20. III. Decisions about Assignments, Contracts and Dismissals • Uses evaluation results to make decisions about transfers and reductions in force • Adds unsatisfactory performance based on evaluation results as a reason for dismissal under “just cause,” i.e., at any time during contract period • Provides flexibility in the time of the school year during which a teacher must be notified of performance deficiencies, so that student performance data from state assessment systems can be fully utilized in the evaluation system • Assigns only effective and highly effective staff to supervise teacher preparation candidates in approved programs

21. IV. Annual Analysis and Reporting of Performance • The Department will annually report by district, school type and subject/grade: • Student growth results using the new model • Aggregate personnel evaluation results and assignment of teachers and principals • Student growth for the continued approval of teacher preparation programs • Correlation between performance & practice on evaluation • Use results and analysis for accountability and continuous improvement

22. Legislative Considerations • For Teacher Evaluations: • When high quality student assessments are not yet available for a teacher, how should student learning outcomes be measured? • Some options to consider: • Growth based on state assessment results either for students assigned to the teacher or students assigned to the whole school • Student performance results based on individual teacher assessments • A combination of these determined by the district

23. Legislative Considerations • For Teacher Compensation: • When high quality assessments and student growth measures are not yet available to a teacher, how should compensation be implemented for those teachers in the interim? • Some options to consider: • Provide compensation for those teachers using the district’s longevity scale • Performance increases are smaller in instances where student growth measures are based on whole school performance or when growth is measured using only state assessments in the absence of an assessment on the teacher’s course content