One of the most watched changes under national school reform is required by schools that choose the transformation model, such as Jason Lee Middle School in Tacoma.
They must adopt a new teacher evaluation method that takes student performance into account. This is a reform the federal government favors, and it’s already been adopted in more than two dozen states.
But factoring growth in student test scores into a teacher’s evaluation is controversial. Unions have opposed it, and it’s sparked at least one lawsuit in New York.
Washington state’s most recent education reform legislation requires that districts adopt new evaluation systems. Selected districts around the state are testing those systems now; they must be in place by the 2013-14 school year.
But at Jason Lee, a new evaluation system that takes student growth into account is set to go live for teachers this year, under an agreement negotiated by the school district and the union, the Tacoma Education Association.
TEA President Andy Coons said he’s pleased with the system Tacoma came up with. He said union members told the district they wanted a system based on multiple measures of student performance, not just a single state test.
“Teachers want to be evaluated on the things they control,” he said. “It’s simplistic to tie it to (only) the state assessment. Only about a third of teachers teach those (tested) subjects.”
The state tests students in reading, writing, math and science. Subjects such as foreign language, technical and vocational courses, art, music, physical education, social studies and others have no state exams.
The agreement lets teachers demonstrate what their students have learned, measured against expected growth, using at least three indicators from an 11-item list. State test scores are included, where applicable. But the list also allows teachers to show growth using portfolios of student work, performance on district tests, classroom tests and even school-wide performance.
In addition to showing progress with student performance, teachers must also meet other standards that deal with everything from creating a safe learning environment to promoting positive interactions with families.
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