Task Force Issues Report On Teacher And Principal Effectiveness;

The Regents Advisory Task Force on Teacher and Principal Effectiveness today submitted to the Board of Regents a comprehensive report containing recommendations for implementing a teacher and principal performance evaluation system in New York State. The Board of Regents reviewed and discussed these recommendations at their meeting today, and are expected to adopt implementing regulations later this Spring. The sixty-three member Task Force – composed of teachers, principals, superintendents of schools, school board representatives, school district and BOCES officials, and other interested parties – has been meeting since September 2010.

Regents Chancellor Merryl H. Tisch said, "I want to thank the members of the Task Force and its co-chairs, Vice-Chancellor Milton Cofield and Regent Lester Young, for their hard work in producing this report. We worked with the Legislature last year to pass the law requiring teacher and principal evaluations. We promised a system to enhance the quality of education across the State and today we begin to fulfill that promise. An effective evaluation system, coupled with the Board’s recent action to transform teacher and principal preparation, mark a fundamental shift that will lead to a better education for New York’s three million students."

Education Commissioner David M. Steiner said, "Adopting a well-designed evaluation system is a critical element of the Regents reform agenda – an agenda aimed at improving teaching and learning in New York and increasing the opportunity of all students to graduate high school college- and career-ready. I am confident that the evaluation system, when implemented, will help us to recruit, develop and retain the kinds of educators New York’s students need and deserve. In short, it will help ensure that we have an effective teacher in every classroom and an effective leader in every school."

The Opening Statement of the Task Force Report notes, "What we do know, and all stakeholders share, is the understanding that the new system must be fair, transparent, and result in meaningful evaluations of teachers and principals. It must be comprehensible to those being evaluated and also to the public...We are pleased to report that we have reached consensus on many of the issues we were charged to address. However, there is more that must be done. The outstanding issues will be the most difficult ones to address…."  The Task Force has expressed its commitment to working with the Department as needed to address those outstanding issues.

Background on Teacher and Principal Evaluation

Last year, legislation was enacted (Chapter 103 of the Laws of 2010) requiring an annual performance evaluation of all teachers and principals. Under the law, each teacher and principal will receive an annual professional performance review (APPR) resulting in a single composite effectiveness score and a rating of "highly effective," "effective," "developing," or "ineffective."  The composite score will be determined as follows:

• 20% -- student growth on state assessments or a comparable measure of student growth (increased to 25% upon implementation of a value-added growth model);

• 20% -- locally-selected measures of student achievement that are determined to be rigorous and comparable across classrooms (decreased to 15% upon implementation of a value-added growth model; and

• 60% -- other measures of teacher/principal effectiveness

The evaluations will play a significant role in a wide array of employment decisions, including promotion, retention, tenure determinations, termination, and supplemental compensation, as well as a significant factor in teacher and principal professional development. If a teacher or principal is rated "developing" or "ineffective," the school district or BOCES is required to develop and implement a teacher or principal improvement plan. Tenured teachers and principals with a pattern of ineffective teaching or performance – defined by law as two consecutive annual "ineffective" ratings – may be charged with incompetence and considered for termination through an expedited hearing process. The law further provides that all evaluators must be appropriately trained and that appeals procedures are to be locally established.

Implementation Timeline

• Spring 2011 – Task Force reports to the Board of Regents; Regents discuss and adopt regulations

• 2011-2012 School Year – New performance evaluation system takes effect for classroom teachers of common branch subjects, ELA or math in grades 4 through 8 along with their respective building principals

• 2012-2013 School Year – New performance evaluation system goes into effect for all teachers and building principals

• 2012-2013 School Year and Thereafter – Implementation of teacher and principal improvement plans, as appropriate; implementation of a Regents-approved value-added growth model to be used for the teacher and principal performance evaluation system

Task Force Report

The Task Force report examines a wide range of policy options. Many of these options were advanced by Task Force members, while others are based on the evaluation practices and proposals of other states and school districts; others were identified by Education Department staff and expert advisors. While the policy options come from a variety of sources, the views and implementation considerations contained in the report are solely those of the Task Force members. Because the Task Force members represent diverse constituencies, the report expresses multiple perspectives on many of the policy options. The Board of Regents considered and discussed all of these options at their meeting today and are expected to adopt implementing regulations later this Spring so that the new evaluation system may be implemented in the coming school year. The major subject areas addressed in the Report are as follows:

• Measuring Student Growth in Non-Tested Grades and Subjects
• Locally-Selected Measures of Student Achievement
• Other Measures of Effectiveness: Teachers
• Other Measures of Effectiveness: Principals
• "Metrics": Teacher of Record, Scoring, and Value-Added
• Evaluator Training
• Professional Development for Teachers and Principals

At the conclusion of the meeting the Board of Regents directed Department staff to proceed with drafting regulations to reflect the day’s conversation.  Those draft regulations would be brought before the Board at their May meeting.

A copy of the Report is available at the following web address:

http://www.regents.nysed.gov/meetings/2011Meetings/April2011/RegentsTaskforceonTeacherandPrincipalEffectiveness.pdf