Will States Act on New Principles for Teacher Evaluation and Support?

This week, the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), an organization that supports state-level education leaders, released three “Principles for Teacher Support and Evaluation Systems.” The principles, which were developed in partnership with a number of stakeholders, address three ideas key to ensuring teacher evaluation systems are used to provide teacher support in addition to accountability.

The release of these principles comes at a time when many in the field are considering the role of professional development and teacher evaluations in providing teacher support. Recent reports from Learning First, the New Teacher Center, the National Bureau of Economic Research, and the National Council on Teacher Quality examine a variety of issues around professional development or teacher evaluations, but spend less time discussing how the two can work together to raise the quality of teaching.

Each of CCSSO’s principles is focused on developing teachers through evaluation systems. And each is supported by a set of straightforward recommendations for states to follow as they assess and refine their teacher evaluation systems moving forward. For example:

• The first principle, Integrate teacher support and evaluation into broader efforts to develop teaching practice and improve student learning, recommends regular communication of clear, aligned teaching standards at all points during educators’ careers.
• The second principle, Drive continuous improvement of teaching practice, recommends creating the structures and training necessary for ensuring all teachers receive regular, growth-oriented feedback that is tailored to their skill level.
• The final principle, Ensure the system is fair, credible, and transparent, advocates for engaging educators in the development of an accurate evaluation system based on multiple measures.

New America’s upcoming report, Beyond Ratings: Re-envisioning State Teacher Evaluation Systems as Tools for Professional Growth, adds to this set of ideas on how to balance teacher support and accountability. The report offers insights into states’ current efforts to help local education agencies connect evaluation with teacher support and provides recommendations for additional steps states can take in this area.

On March 7th, New America will host an event, coinciding with the release of its new report, that aims to inform the conversation about how evaluation can further teacher development. The event will feature opening remarks from the Executive Director of CCSSO, Chris Minnich, and a panel discussion among other leaders in the field. Given the flexibility that the new Elementary and Secondary Education Act now provides to states in implementing teacher evaluation systems, will states actualize CCSSO’s principles for high-quality teacher support and evaluation? And how might they go about doing so?

To take part in the conversation, join us March 7th in DC or on Twitter using #BeyondRatings."