As the state finalizes its teacher evaluation plan, details are finally beginning to emerge. Capital New York reports teachers will be evaluated by an “independent” evaluator, who might be a principal or an expert teacher from another district.
Observations are only one part of the proposed evaluation plan — the second half will be made up of student performance on state tests.
To quell the concerns of some critics who say performance on a single test is a poor way to judge teacher performance, the Cuomo administration is offering a second optional test.
Capitol New York Reports:
The additional exam would address concerns about teachers being rated based on a student’s work on one day or over one test-administration period, the administration official said. But the test would be optional, so parents wouldn’t be able to blame the state for additional testing. the official said.
While the State Education Department will be charged with determining how performance indicators translate to “ineffective,” “developing,” “effective” or “highly effective” ratings, the budget will include certain rules that “trump” the outcome of the department’s calculation.
For example, if teachers are evaluated using only the traditional state exam and are rated “ineffective” based on student performance on that exam, they may not be rated “effective” overall; they may only be rated “ineffective” or “developing.” For teachers at districts that opt to use two tests, if teachers’ rating based on both tests combined is “ineffective,” they must be rated “ineffective” overall.
Read the rest here.