One size does not fit all when it comes to Career and Technical Education (CTE) teacher evaluation.
CTE teachers instruct in a number of fields (from health sciences and engineering to design and culinary services) and in a wide variety of settings (from typical middle or high school classrooms, to special in-school labs, to full technical high schools). Almost all states require that certified teachers, including CTE teachers, be included in evaluation systems. A dozen have state-level, CTE-specific evaluation policies or recommendations.
But measuring how CTE students are progressing for those teacher evaluations poses challenges. Standardized tests usually only provide information for teachers in grades 3 through 11, or just for math or English Language Arts teachers. CTE teachers, like the majority of teachers, cannot then use standardized tests to assess their students’ progress or growth. For CTE, student growth may be better assessed through demonstrations of skill rather than written assessments.
Questions to consider when evaluating CTE teachers: How well do general teacher evaluation frameworks work with CTE teachers and the often hands-on instruction they